This Bureau is an amalgamation of County departments under the President that literally run the gamut from A (Animal Control) to Z (Zoning Board of Appeals). Other departments are Planning and Development, Building and Zoning, Environmental Control, Judicial Advisory Council, Medical Examiner, Office of Adoption and Child Custody Advocacy, Veterans' Assistance Commission, Highway, Highway – MFT Illinois First, and the Law Library. Mark Kilgallon heads up the Bureau as the Chief Administrative Officer.
The 2009 Appropriation was $36 million (corporate funds) plus $22 million (special purpose funds). The amount included in the proposed budget from President Stroger is $35.6 million (corporate) plus $23.7 million (special). This is a 1.3% reduction in corporate funds per the Budget Director. However, each division was asked to reduce their corporate funds budget request by 5%. The number of FTE's (Full Time Equivalent employees) is currently authorized at 649 and the proposed budget has 697. The increases are due primarily to Highway -- MFT Illinois First (26), the Law Library (7) and the Medical Examiner (18). Among other things, the Medical Examiner needs to add another team to review infant deaths because there are so many. Dr. Nancy Jones, Cook County Medical Examiner, explained the primary purpose of the Medical Examiner's office is to prevent preventable deaths by identifying the cause of death so that action can be taken to prevent future deaths.
Commissioner Gainer asked whether any of the special purpose motor fuel tax (MFT) funds could be used for other items in the budget. To be explored. Commissioner Gainer also would like each department's budget in the future to reflect the costs for the facilities they utilize; otherwise, departments have no incentive to consolidate or move to less expensive space.
Commissioner Silvestri asked about where the project to add cameras at County –controlled intersections stood. The response was that they were still waiting for the Chief Judge to determine which County court would deal with tickets generated by the use of the cameras. This will probably come up when the Chief Judge appears to discuss that budget. While the installation of cameras is primarily being done for safety reasons, it will also be a revenue generator for the County.
--Submitted by Observer Pris Mims
