Final Report on Cook County Budget Meetings

Budget Passes 16-1 after Finance Committee Deals with 64 Proposed Amendments; A Number of Jobs Saved

Following the final meeting of the Board’s Finance Committee dealing with the 2012 budget, the Cook County Board convened and voted 16 to 1 to pass the budget, as amended.  Comm. Beavers was the lone dissenter.  This vote took place around 4:30 pm.

Thus, for the first time in many years, the County Board completed its work during business hours and prior to the start of the fiscal year, which begins December 1.  The Cook County web site touts that this is the earliest a budget has been passed since 1995.

Prior to the Board taking its vote, the Finance Committee met to consider some additional revenue proposals and 64 proposed amendments that had been submitted prior to the deadline on Wednesday, Nov. 16.

Amendments Save Positions

As a result of these amendments, a number of jobs originally slated to be eliminated by the proposed budget, were reinstated by cutting money from non-personnel budget categories, such as training and use of outside contractors.  One of the more controversial ways to provide additional money to retain jobs was the use of what is called a “turnover adjustment.”  This is a credit to a department's budget to reflect the fact that not all the positions that have been budgeted will actually have people employed in them throughout the entire year. For example, if an employee leaves, it might be a month or more before that position is filled. So, if the annual salary for that position was listed in the budget for $60,000 and if there was an assumption that the position would be unfilled for one month, then the turnover adjustment for that position would be $5,000, or 1/12 of the annual salary.

Comm. Schneider expressed concern about the liberal use of turnover adjustments in a number of amendments, recalling that several years ago when he and then Comm. Claypool proposed saving positions by using a turnover adjustment, they were told that that was not a sound or prudent practice. Budget Director Andrea Gibson said that utilization of a turnover adjustment was reasonable, as long as the amount was not too great. In one instance, the Budget Department stated it was opposed to a proposed amendment because the turnover adjustment was 50% of the total yearly amount of the positions to be retained.  And in that case, the Finance Committee voted down the proposed amendment.  Where the Budget Department approved the use of turnover adjustments, the amendments were approved.

Among the positions saved were those in the offices of the State’s Attorney and Public Defender, as well as positions under Facilities Management as a result of utilizing an assumption that more revenues than originally assumed in the proposed budget would be realized in the Unknown Heir Legal Settlement fund.  The County Clerk’s budget resulted in there being an excess of $400,000 in the Election Fund, which was then used to add positions to the Board of Review.  During the department meeting with the Board of Review, the 3 Commissioners stated that if they could get additional funds to restore these positions, they would be able to get out the 2^nd installment tax bill on time (for the first time in 34 years!).  However, the statements were not nearly as strong at today’s meeting: simply that the restored positions would help in getting the bills out on time.

In order to save jobs, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Dorothy Brown, obtained an agreement from the non-union personnel in her departments to take 10 furlough days in 2012.  These are the only furlough days to be taken by any personnel in 2012. 

Because none of the unions had agreed with the President’s proposal that some of the holidays be unpaid, a number of amendments that would have reinstated additional positions were withdrawn.   

IT Shared Services Department Created

Amendment 36 revisited a controversial concept from the 2011 budget discussions, except this time the Finance Committee voted to create an IT (Information Technology) Shared Services Department under the Bureau of Technology, which reports to the President.  It is supposed to be a shared services center to help the offices of all elected officials and departments throughout the County, with the notable exception of the Health & Hospitals System, which for now, has been left out of the consolidation. This amendment is still controversial, however, and there was discussion that some elected officials were against this, while others were supportive.  During the debate, it was stressed that this is a small start and it would be reviewed and revised after 90 days.  The goal is to reduce IT costs and create computer systems that are more efficient and compatible with other County systems.

Increased Wheel Tax

In addition to the other revenue proposals that were approved at the Nov. 14 meeting (see the report from that day in this Observer Blog), the Finance Committee also approved the doubling of the wheel tax (i.e., the cost of vehicle stickers) for those who live in unincorporated Cook County.  For example, the annual fee for small passenger vehicles went from $40 to $80. This revenue proposal had been deferred at the Nov. 14 meeting.

The Process

There was a concerted effort by Commissioners to assist those in the audience (as well as their fellow Commissioners) by summarizing the nature of the amendments being considered.  Unlike past years, “floor amendments” (that is, amendments introduced for the first time during the meeting) were not allowed.  However, there were a number of “substitute” amendments which were passed out to the Commissioners and which the public did not have access to.  While from the discussion it appeared that these substitutes contained only corrections generally, it is unfortunate that there was no way for the public to be sure of this.  The League has been urging that the Board room have screens and projection equipment permanently installed to assist the Commissioners, as well as the public, in knowing what is being voted on.  Comm. Gainer complained that the 64 amendments were not available to the Commissioners (and the public) until after 10 pm the night before.  This presumably was due to the fact that the Budget Department first vetted all proposed amendments to check for problems, but this raises the issue as to whether there should be more time allowed between the deadline for submitting amendments and the meeting to vote on them.

-- reported by Karin Hribar and Priscilla Mims

Health and Hospitals System Board Meeting - Nov. 18, 2011

The meeting began with public comment and 3 speakers presented their complaint to the board that the company they represented had not had their contract to provide medical gases to the system renewed. They stated their feeling that the bid process had not been done as in previous years.

In the Finance Committee report Mr. Carvalho stated that it had been the intent of that committee to do contract discussion at their meeting, not at board meetings, but two issues from the meeting were not resolved at the committee level and needed to come before the board. The first had to do with the contracts for the medical gases. Historically the contract for the gases and for the servicing of the equipment for the gases had been bundled together. In reviewing the contract it was decided to split it into separate contracts - one for the gases and another for maintenance in the hopes that better pricing could be obtained. At the time of the Finance Committee meeting only the contract for the gases had been available and not the contract for maintenance so thus both items had been referred to the board agenda so they could be considered together. Both contracts were presented for approval. Mr. Carvalho further stated that these contracts had used the GPO process whereby the staff investigates the vendors who can provide the product and service needed, and then makes a recommendation after investigating costs and possible savings. It is not a formal bid process. The contracts were approved.

The other issue from the Finance Committee was $1m that had been designated in the 2011 budget for dental care and had not yet been used. Mr. Carvalho explained that initial efforts had been made to link with Access to Care to provide dental services throughout the county but that linkage did not work out. Due to changes in administrative personnel, planning for the dental program was taken over by Dr. Mason who worked out a proposal with Community Health a near NW side clinic staffed by volunteer physicians to provide 4 sites for free dental care for 4 years. While the orignial intent of the allocation had been to provide dental staff at Stroger Hospital, Mr. Carvalho said that it was deemed to be better to have scattered sites for the dental services rather than a central location. The board approved the allocation of money to Community Health to provide dental services and they expressed their desire that money be included in the next budget for dental services so the program will be able to continue once it is up and running. Mr. Ansell expressed his concern that the program be evaluated prior to getting more money but Mr. Carvalho stated that he thought evaluation should not be done by the Finance Committee but perhaps by the Quality and Patient Safety Committee. Most board members agreed with that.

Mr. Carvalho stated that the projected shortfall for the HHS budget for 2011 is $109m. He said at the next Finance Committee meeting discussion will focus on contract compliance, the GPO process and how they can be better integrated.

Director O'Donnell asked about the decline in patients being seen at Oak Forest Hospital. Dr. Ansell explained that Oak Forest has had about a 20% decline in patients coming in. With Oak Forest becoming an Urgent Care Center there does seem to be some confusion in the community as to what that means. Dir. Ansell stated that the UCC will be staffed by primary care physicians and nurse practitioners and the location is also changing on the Oak Forest grounds. Community outreach is being planned.

The meeting went into closed session at 8:30am.

Cynthia Schilsky

LWVCC Observer

Cook County Board Meeting - November 15, 2011

The meeting was called to order at 10:20am by President Preckwinkle and the first item on the agenda was the appointment/reappointment of the individuals to the CC Commission on Women's Issues. There is a representative from each district and they were recognized by the board for their work on women's issues.

The rules were then suspended to consider 4 items from the New Items agenda which the observer had not been able to access on the website the previous evening. Hard copies were not available at the meeting either but by checking the website after the meeting the items were identified as 2 items that were amendments to the CC Tobacco Tax, Commercial Cigarette Manufacturing Machine Tax, and an Amendment to the CC Alcohol Beverage Tax. These items were all referred to the Finance Committee without discussion and will be considered at the Finance Committee meeting scheduled for Nov. 18 as they all deal with revenue for the 2012 Budget.

Chairman Peterson and CEO Claypool from the CTA presented a written report and gave a brief oral summary of their 2012 budget which they stated does not include fare increases or service cuts. Work force cuts and fundamental changes in operations were cited as the ways that the $277m budget gap would be addressed. They stated that support from the county is critical to their budget. Several of the commissioners made statements praising the CTA for their capital investments and the good job they are doing despite their budget challenges. They voted to receive and file the report. (An item on the New Items agenda for reducing the amount of money the county would provide to the CTA was withdrawn from consideration.)

During the Finance Committee meeting the Mortgage Foreclosure Program that is sponsored by the Chief Judge was again under scrutiny as there were approximately $600,000 in bills for approval. Comm. Gainer continues to ask the representatives from the Chief Judge's office to provide her with the performance metrics that are being used to evaluate the program. They stated they would provide the information to the Chief Judge who would provide the information to the commissioner. Comm. Collins continues to ask how the money is being used. The women in charge of the program explained that the money is used to pay legal aide services for the legal assistance and mediation services provided to clients free of charge. They stated that there are still 77,000 foreclosures pending in the courts.

Comm. Fritchey introduced a request from Matt DeLeon, Secretary to the Board, and Gregg Wass, Chief Information Officer, for $243,000 for the purchase of cameras and related equipment to be installed in the board room so that the board meetings can be broadcast live for improved public access to proceedings. These cameras would replace the present rental system of camera equipment and with the new cameras one person will be able to run the operation. Comm. Tobolski asked about having screens and projectors installed as well. Matt said that is part of the plan for the room but not included in this request. Comm. Butler wanted to know how the viewers were going to know what was going on when items being discussed were referred to as "agenda item #1" and President Preckwinkle stated that whoever was making a motion would have to summarize the item in one sentence. Comm. Butler pointed out that this was not a group that was inclined to make 1 sentence statements. The motion was approved.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court requested a contract extension for the rental of shelving for storage of documents from her office. The extension is for another year - until December 2012 - and for $125,796. This provoked discussion of lack of progress on the completion of the Hawthorn Warehouse which is where these documents are supposed to ultimately be stored permanently. John Cook, Deputy Director of Bureau of Economic Development, reported that the Hawthorne facility is now scheduled for completion in September of 2012. An update on the cost and progress of the renovation was requested. A roll call vote was taken on approval of this contract and it was approved 10-7. (Ayes - Beavers, Butler, Collins, Daley, Murphy, Reyes, Sims, Steele, Suffredin, Tobolski) (Nays - Fritchey, Gainer, Garcia, Gorman, Goslin, Schneider, Silvestri)

Among the new items that were addressed and referred to the Finance Committee:

1. A proposal that the office of Recorder of Deeds be abolished and the duties consolidated into the office of the County Clerk and this would appear on the ballot in November 2012 for the voters to vote on.
2. Compensation for members of the Employee Appeals Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals be changed to $500/meeting.
3. A Vacant Building Ordinance for the county.
4. An amendment to the Vacation Leave Ordinance
5. An Ordinance to Centralize Banking Functions for invested funds for all county offices and officials.

The appointment of Ruth Rothstein to the vacant position on the HHS Board was referred to the Legislative Comm.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:35pm.

Cynthia Schilsky

LWVCC Observer

Nov. 14, 2011 Cook County Budget Meeting: Finance Committee Passes Proposals to Increase Revenues

Full Budget still Expected to Be Voted on Friday, Nov. 18

Following a public hearing where final public testimony was heard on a series of proposals to add revenues in order to balance the proposed 2012 Cook County budget, the Finance Committee voted to approve 13 items (several as amended) and 2 items were deferred.  As a result, there will need to be either some other revenue proposals or further cuts to the proposed budget in order for it to be balanced.  Comm. Suffredin stated that he has a couple revenue enhancement proposals on the agenda for Tuesday’s regular Board meeting that can be referred to the Committee, which he would expect would take these proposals up on Friday, when the Finance Committee is again meeting.  Accordingly, Chairman Daley said that Friday’s meeting would begin at 8:30 am so that there could first be a public hearing on those revenue proposals before votes are taken on those and the rest of the proposed budget for 2012.

The proposed ordinance on the Amusement Device Tax was deferred at the request of the Administration.  The Finance Committee also voted to defer the Wheel Tax Amendment, which would double the vehicle sticker fee for those in unincorporated Cook County.  This amendment was expected to generate $1.54 million.  The main reasoning for deferral was that this should be part of the considerations of the Blue Ribbon Committee appointed by the President to deal with unincorporated areas.

The two amendments which probably received the most attention in the press were the ones that would increase the Alcohol Beverage Tax and that would expand the Tobacco Tax to cover other tobacco products besides cigarettes.  Both of these passed, though the Tobacco Tax proposal was amended to phase in the tax over two years, with only half of it coming into effect in 2012.  Comms. Fritchey and Suffredin, who voted no to the Alcohol Tax increase, along with Beavers and Collins, expressed concern over lost jobs in the hospitality sector.  Comm. Gorman said that she supported the measure because, with the rollback of the sales tax which was applicable to alcohol (along with many other items), the net effect is that even with the increase in the Alcohol Beverage Tax, everyone is still ahead.  As a result of the phasing in of the expansion of the Tobacco Tax, it is expected that Cook County will receive $2.6 million less in 2012.

The third proposal which generated the most discussion at the meeting was the Courthouse Facility Parking Resolution which would institute a $4.75 daily parking rate ($65 monthly charge for in-and-out privileges that employees would likely pay) on the parking facilities (garages and surface lots) at the County’s courthouses.  Two amendments proposed by Comm. Fritchey and Suffredin, respectively, were passed which exempt jurors, victims, subpoenaed witnesses, law enforcement officials who are testifying, and early voters.  As amended, this proposal passed.  However, these fees will not be levied for 6 months, and there will need to be bargaining with the unions during this time.

Other proposals which passed, some of which are expected to bring in relatively small amounts, are:

1.  an annual inspection fee of $200 under the Gasoline Vapor Collection & Control System Ordinance; 
2. the Demolition Amendment that would raise fees for permits and permit revisions; 
3. Asbestos and Related Substances proposal that institutes a $200 certificate of registration for contractors; 
4. an increase of the filing fee for evaluation of plans for fuel-burning equipment; 
5. an increase in fees under the Department of Building & Zoning for contractors doing work in unincorporated areas; 
6. an increase in the fee for the Recorder to provide electronic copies of documents; 
7. an increase in the charge for copies of documents from the Recorder’s web site; 
8. a realignment of the County tax on parking garages and valets, as amended by Comm. Suffredin to exempt municipal garages for communities under 250,000; 
9. an increase in the Use Tax applicable to the sales of such items as cars and boats; and 
10. a substitute amendment to apply a Use Tax to the transfer of title to motor vehicles from family members.

None of these revenue proposals received unanimous support, with Comms. Beavers, Collins, and Schneider voting against most of them, and other Comms. voting against some.

--  reported by Priscilla Mims

Nov. 10, 2011 Budget Meetings--Last Day of Meetings before the Voting Begins!

In this post:  Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, Chief Judge, Public Defender, and County Treasurer

This is the last day the Finance Committee is meeting with Elected Officials and Department Heads to go over their individual proposed budgets. On Monday, November 14, the Finance Committee is going to be considering and voting on proposed revenue increases. Proposed amendments to the budget are due on Wednesday, November 16. And the Finance Committee expects to debate and vote on the entire budget on Friday, November 18. The Commissioners on the Committee will likely then immediately reconvene as the County Board and vote to accept the budget as amended by the Finance Committee (which is composed of all the same people).

Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (“JTDC”)

This was probably the longest of the departmental meetings, lasting about 3 hours. However, during that time, there was no direct discussion of the fact that the President’s recommended budget is about $6 million less than the departmental request. Based on information from other sources within the budget books, the President expects the costs to be less than the department requested if more of the juveniles now being housed there can instead be placed in alternative places in the community. The Transitional Administrator, Earl Dunlap, did say that the Court would need to determine who would qualify for these alternative placements, but generally, it would be the juveniles who are now housed in the JTDC for 7 days or less (who comprise 67% of those admitted) and those who come in on bench warrants. Mr. Dunlap stressed that the JTDC is just a pre-trial facility and its purpose is for public safety, not for rehabilitation (and 80% of the population is there for 2 weeks or less). He also stressed that the JTDC is a costly operation and the County is getting very little for its investment. A fair number of the juveniles would be better served in community-based programs, but that is going to take a commitment from the communities, as well as the County and Judiciary.

The number housed in the JTDC is down considerably from the average of 402 in 2008; as of this July, there were 296 juveniles there. However, Mr. Dunlap said that the numbers could start going up based on legislation in Springfield which would treat 17-year olds, currently treated as adults, as juveniles instead. Mr. Dunlap said that he now has a great deal of confidence in the staff working there. Comm. Gainer and Silvestri commented that they have both seen a big improvement in the atmosphere there. While Mr. Dunlap said that the school at the JTDC has improved tremendously, Comm. Gainer still has concerns that further changes are necessary. For example, the school hours should start later (consistent with studies that show teenagers need more sleep in the morning) and run longer, so the juveniles have less free time in the afternoons.

Mr. Dunlap also vigorously defended the money budgeted for mental health services provided by the Isaac Ray Center. He said that there were 519 incidents requiring mental health expertise, 404 (78%) of which were due to suicide issues.

Upon questioning from Comm. Murphy, Mr. Dunlap said that the $24,000 salary increases for Asst. Superintendents is due to the fact that they were hired last year at a lower rate and now, after one year of service, he is convinced they can do the job and deserve the higher rate. He also explained that overtime is going up in the budget (by $500,000 over 2011) because the JTDC is reducing its reliance on contract employees (down by $2.4 million from 2011) now that the staff is more settled.

Mr. Dunlap said that he expects that in 2012 the JTDC’s transition from Federal Court supervision to coming under the supervision of the Cook County Chief Judge will at last take place.

Chief Judge

Chief Judge Timothy Evans explained that the budget submitted by his area called for 73 reduced positions, but that under the budget submitted by the President, 85 more positions would be lost. He is working on submitting a proposed amendment that would be budget neutral, but which would allow him to save those positions. 

There was some confusion in looking at the overall budget of the Chief Judge, because that includes all the departments under him, including that of the JTDC, even though it is still under Federal Court supervision. Judge Evans said that he has started the process of looking for a new head of the JTDC in anticipation of it coming under his supervision.

Comm. Gainer expressed concern that there are no measurements in place yet for determining the effectiveness of several different providers of services related to foreclosures, even though the contracts have been in place for 4 months, totaling $3.6 million. However, she also praised the specialty courts that have been established (e.g., for prostitution and veterans).

Judge Evans touted the fact that the judges have helped reduce the jail population by ordering electronic monitoring in lieu of incarceration for those who pose no threat. However, he says that 1/3 of those ordered to go on electronic monitoring actually do. He told the Commissioners to ask the Sheriff why the difference. (Ironically, in past years, the Sheriff was complaining to Commissioners that judges weren’t ordering electronic monitoring.) One of the costs incurred by the Sheriff is to transport inmates to court from the jail. Judge Evans said that he will allow video-conferencing in lieu of transport if the defendant waives the right to be in court. However, he also admitted that most defendants would take the opportunity to get out of the jail to appear in court. One of the cost savings in the overall budget is due to eliminating weekend bond courts in the suburban courts and having 26^th & California be the single location on the weekends. This was a cost savings that the Sheriff had pushed for several years, to which Judge Evans has now agreed.

Public Defender

Similar to the State’s Attorney, the Public Defender, the Hon. Abishi Cunningham, Jr., has agreed to a reduced budget, but warned the Commissioners that the cuts were getting dangerously close to not allowing the department to meet its mandate. He asked that any additional money that could be found would be directed to his office. Comm. Daley said that the President was working on an amendment which would restore some of the positions that have been cut, which include some 10 attorneys, 29 investigators, and 20 support people, which represent $2.8 million in cost savings.

County Treasurer

Treasurer Maria Pappas touted her budget which is a 6% reduction in General Funds from 2011, or a reduction of $150,000. She is utilizing $225,000 more from the Tax Sales Automation Fund, a special purpose fund that can only be used to cover automation-related expenses. She is very proud of the automation efforts of her department which have resulted over the past decade in a reduction of employees from 250 to 110 for 2012. In response to a question from Comm. Gainer, Treasurer Pappas said the state legislation which requires the tax sales to be moved earlier in the year to July results in about $5 million less per month. Previously, the Treasurer determined when to hold the sale.

-- reported by Priscilla Mims

Nov. 9, 2011, Meetings on the Budget: Bureau of Human Resources & County Clerk

Bureau of Human Resources

The Director, Maureen O’Donnell, stated that the Bureau was in a shambles when she took over about 6 months ago, and since then, they have made great strides.  

• They are making progress in reaching compliance with the Shakman decree, which prohibits the hiring and firing of county workers for political reasons (other than in positions which the Court has specifically found to be “exempt”).
• The Bureau has presented 27 union contracts for Board approval to get caught up with the backlog of contracts covering periods from 2008 through the present. There are 104 bargaining units.  
• The Bureau is also focusing on absence management. The absence statistic is 10.5 days per year per employee, which is very high. The County could save $7 million per year if that average could be reduced by just one day, which Comm. Schneider highlighted in his questioning.  
• The Bureau is currently getting ready to deal with the proposed layoff of 1,000 employees that is called for under the 2012 proposed budget. 
•  Finally, Ms. O’Donnell said that the Bureau has a longer-term goal of creating a merit-based compensation system (at least for non-union employees) rather than the current step system, which is based on years of service.

Comm. Collins asked about the Taleo system that the Bureau is still implementing for processing applications on-line. A year ago, it took an average of 180 days to fill a position. Now it takes 124, which is still far more than where the County should be. Comm. Gainer urged that the Bureau include on its list of items in union negotiations reducing the number of holidays from the current 12 or 13 to the more standard 7; also to eliminate an employee's ability to carry over sick days and receive compensation for unused sick days when the employee leaves the County’s employ. She also asked about how the County can get to merit pay, and Ms. O’Donnell said the first step is to institute regular employee appraisals. Comm. Gainer also urged that the Bureau inform employees (as well as potential hires) about the value of their benefits, which are often much greater than in the private sector. Finally there was a discussion as to how much work the Bureau is still handling for the Health & Hospitals System (“HHS”), which Ms. O’Donnell characterized as still a lot. Comm. Gainer’s point was that the budget for human resource work in HHS is about $2.9 million and in this Bureau it is about $2.9 million; thus, it would seem that the HHS budget may be too large.

County Clerk

Clerk David Orr said that his area had exceeded the budgeted revenues for 2011 by about $400,000. For 2012, the election budget is $3.35 million lower than in 2008 (the last presidential election year), much of which is due to reducing the number of precincts. Clerk Orr said that his area had taken all the furlough days, and his employees were resentful of those departments which hadn’t. He also complained about other elected officials in the County who were paying much higher salaries to employees in grade 24 than he was. He feels the Board should look into this. Finally, he noted that his suburban offices were bringing in more revenues than in the past, and he is concerned that people will be discouraged from going there if the County institutes the proposed parking fees. He is also concerned about employees having to pay them.

-- reported by Priscilla Mims

Cook County Board Meeting, November 1, 2011

The meeting was called to order fifteen minutes late as other committees of the whole had been meeting. Commissioner Steele was absent.

The budgets for Metra and PACE were presented for 2012. After doing extensive customer research with their constituency, Metra decided to raise fares by 25% across the board rather than have cutbacks in service. Sales tax intake was lower, and diesel fuel costs have spiked. The total budget is $930.9 million. Metra is investigating free wifi on the trains.

PACE presented their budget of $195 million for 2012. Ridership is up by 5% but most of this is in ADA service which is much more expensive to provide than regular bus service. With this service, appointments are made for smaller jitney buses to pick people up from their homes 24 hours in advance. ADA ridership is increasing heavily due to the aging of the population.

The Finance Committee convened and the Cook County Health & Hospital System (CCHHS) was discussed. Dr. Ramanathan Raju, the CCHHS CEO, was on hand to answer questions. Patient fee collections are down by $105.6 million. Many employees of the hospital system did not take requested furlough days as they were considered essential employees, causing a shortfall to the balanced budget for this year. There are apparently 28,000 patients from Lake and DuPage Counties who use the Cook County hospital system each year, for which the county receives no reimbursement. Commissioner Silvestri requested Dr. Raju to investigate. Other commissioners wanted to know about $40 million spent on consulting fees. Cook County is investigating entering all their employees in an HMO/PPO system to cut costs.

Takashi Reinbold, Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Cook County, discussed the list of 10,000 Cook County employees who did not take furlough as they were considered “essential”. Comms. Beavers and Collins became defensive about being labeled “bad guys” for not taking furlough and each talked extensively about how their staffs were essential and spent the bare minimum. Other commissioners expressed their desire to fulfill compliance with a motion that was passed unanimously to help President Preckwinckle balance the budget. Apparently, most commissioners did indeed take furlough days and made the necessary 2011 cuts to meet budget. Comms. Beavers, Butler, and Collins have not yet complied with the motion.

The remaining agenda was passed quickly and the meeting was adjourned at 12:45pm.

Amy Little, Observer, November 1, 2011

November 9, 2011 - Budget Hearings - Health and Hospitals System

The Cook County Finance Committee held this hearing to again review the budget for the Health and Hospitals System that is included in the proposed 2012 Executive Budget. Dr. Raju, CEO for the System gave a brief overview of the budget request which now stands at $894m. Dr. Raju stated that he is hopeful that there will be no further cuts to this request as this budget is necessary to carry out the strategic plan for the system which will put in place the infrastructure to maximize future revenue collection and in future years will decrease the systems dependence on subsidy from the county. He stated that his financial staff worked closely with the President's office to reach the present compromise on the $894m budget.

Commissioner questions focused on revenue concerns - why the system continues to be unable to collect patient fees in a timely and efficient manner. There continue to be issues with multiple contractors doing billing for different types of fees and coordinating the efforts has been an ongoing challenge. Physicians have not billed for their services until recently so this is a cultural change within the system and providing the software and training to facilitate this process is now underway. State reimbursement for Medicaide continues to be problematic. Dr. Raju expressed his commitment to ensuring that the revenue collection system will be optimized and that fees will be collected from those patients who have an ability to pay. He also stated that he is committed to reviewing all contracts with outside vendors to ensure that they are necessary. He would like to have as many of the system functions be internal as possible.

Another area of concern for the commissioners was HR with questions focused on vacant positions, hiring, and layoffs. There was also discussion of how personnel within the system were deemed essential so that they were not required to take the unpaid furlough days. Dr. Raju said that they needed to work out a system of sharing more equitably if furlough days were going to be required but most of the employees within the system belonged to unions that had not agreed to the furlough days. There was discussion of the President's offer to the unions to take 6 unpaid holidays to mitigate the number of layoffs - but it was uncertain if the unions would agree to this. Andrea Gibson, CC Budget Director, was asked how much money could be saved if no raises were given in 2012 and she stated that it was about $50m. Hiring within the system continues to be challenging and Deborah Tate, head of HR for the system, reported that over the last year 235 persons had been hired - but as she explained the number it included 163 medical students, 44 physicians, 61 people at Cermak, and 40 nurses who had been "processed" including 23 internal candidates - so the numbers did not seem to add up. There are union regulations about filling vacancies, displacement, bumping and layoffs that need to be considered in hiring. Ms. Tate stated that the displacement process involved with the changes in personnel needs as a result of the strategic plan should be completed by November 30.

Other issues raised were:

• need to reinstate rape crisis counselors in Stroger ER ($275,000)
• ensuring that clinics throughout the county are not being closed - according to Dr. Martinez they are not
• phasing in the change of MH2 positions to licensed MH3 positions at Cermak so as not to be disruptive to the patients - and providing training for MH2s who want to become licensed MH3s
• need to increase funding for Access to Care, a suburban program that provides access to primary care physicians for the uninsured

Dr. Raju and has staff provided answers to the commissioners on the issues that they raised. Dr. Raju, who has only been in his position of CEO for 1 month, assured the committee that he is dedicated to improving the revenue stream of CCHHS and he will be vigilant in monitoring contracts in the coming year. He also stated that the system will need to tweak its financial model as health care reform continues towards 2014. Since very little specific information relating to numbers was discussed in this three hour session it was unclear to the observer whether amendments to this part of the budget would be forthcoming.

Cynthia Schilsky

LWVCC Observer

Nov. 8, 2011 Meetings on the Budget: Sheriff, Clerk of the Court, & State's Attorney

Sheriff Tom Dart

Sheriff Dart stated that his budget of $401 million is down from both 2011 ($412 million) and 2010, despite $54 million increase in salaries to be paid as approved by County Board.  The savings is due in part to the following:  inmates helping out at Animal Control; reduction in overtime from $22 million in 2010 to $11 million; payments from the Illinois Dept. of Corrections for housing some of their inmates; reducing the cost of food by having inmates prepare lunch (and may be able to have inmates prepare breakfast, both of which are “cold meals”); and reduction in jail population.  He praised the judiciary for increasing the number of those on electronic monitoring from 300 to 1100 currently.  He noted that while the total admissions has decreased (75,000 in 2007 vs. 65,000 in 2011), the average length of stay has increased from 47 to 54 days.  The inference was that it is taking longer to bring these people to trial. The Sheriff also stated that he thinks that they are getting close to putting the Duran court case and oversight behind them after 30 years.

His biggest concern is in the number of inmates with mental illnesses (regularly runs between 1200 to 2500 out of the 9,200 in custody), and this population produces the most costs to the County. With the closing of more state-run mental health facilities, he expects that population to grow even more.  Comm. Steele raised his concern about the proposed changes at Cermak  (which is responsible for treating the inmates) that the Health & Hospitals System is making with regard to changing out the mental health specialists who are currently not licensed with higher-level licensed specialists, but who are not known by the inmates.  Comm. Steele asked the Sheriff to talk to the Health & Hospitals System about the negative effect wholesale and quick changes may have.

Sheriff Dart said that his department could and should be handling more of the closings of foreclosed home sales since they can do them well and at lower costs than others who are doing them.  If his department handled all such closings, it would amount to $13 million in revenues for the County, but in 2011 he is bringing in only $118,000 for 448 out of the 9,500 he expected to do.  He has no explanation yet as to why his department isn’t being used.  On the plus side, in only 7 weeks of stepped up enforcement, his department has issued $1 million in citations for unpaid cigarette taxes.  He expects significantly more in 2012.

While Sheriff Dart stated that his department is 100% in compliance in taking the required furlough days, upon questioning, it turns out that about 5500 of his employees have been deemed “essential” and thereby exempt from taking the days.  In addition to the fact that much of his area (the patrol officers and jail) operate 24/7, the Sheriff stated that if these employees had to take furlough days, that would result in other employees covering through overtime, thereby increasing those costs.  Comm. Tobolski said that rather than some of these “essential” employees being allowed to take personal days, maybe these days should be furlough days. 

Comm. Silvestri stated that he had reached out to all the townships to see if they would help fund the graffiti unit which is being eliminated in this budget.

Clerk of the Court Dorothy Brown

Clerk Brown explained some of the achievements of the past year, including having motorists paying tickets online for $10 million; and piloting a program with 4 municipalities to have e-tickets issued and sent directly to her area with the expectation that all 128 municipalities will be participating this year.  She expects all judges to have computers on the bench in 2012, which will eliminate the need for her employees to bring paper files into court. 

At the time the proposed budget was published, her request was not in alignment with the President’s recommendation. However, Clerk Brown stated that she is working on coming into compliance and will submit proposed amendments by the deadline of Nov. 16.  In order to meet the recommendation, either layoffs or some furlough days will be necessary.

She noted that she did a study comparing her area to those in the 6 largest counties in the U.S.  While Cook is the 2^nd largest in # of cases filed, Cook is the 3^rd largest in # of employees.  Looking at 2010 numbers, her budget is at the bottom.  Comm. Tobolski stated that court filings are down 28% over the past 10 years, but the number of employees under the Clerk of the Court is down only 12%.  Clerk Brown pointed to her county comparison study in response.

Comm. Fritchey expressed concern over Clerk Brown’s proposal to seek State authorization to charge a 50 cent or $1 fee for every filing in a case, over and above the $303 to initiate a case.  Comm. Fritchey also asked about the Clerk’s Inspector General’s office with 20 FTEs, vs. the County Inspector General who has 18.  Clerk Brown stated that some of those employees are actually filling an auditing role, as opposed to handling complaints.  She is going to clarify the roles.  Comm. Fritchey also asked about the Controller’s office under the Clerk of the Court which has 65 FTEs vs. the County Controller only having 38.  Clerk Brown stated that her area handles lots of over-the-counter transactions and has to disburse funds to 950 agencies, necessitating lots of oversight and controls. 

State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez

While the State’s Attorney’s office has submitted a budget request in line with the President’s recommendation, it was clear that Ms. Alvarez was seeking additional money from the Board to reduce the number of layoffs that are necessary under the proposed budget (113, 93 of whom are administrative, including a number of those in the Victims’ Assistance department who have received a lot of attention in the public hearings).  She has done a comparison with other large counties and says her attorneys carry a much larger caseload.  Her proposed cuts in attorneys are more on the civil, rather than criminal side, to which she has given a priority out of public safety concerns.  However, she said the cuts on the civil side will necessitate having to go outside for some of the civil actions which will mean that the County will be paying a minimum of $185/hr vs. the $45/hr cost to handle inside.

It was clear that a number of the Commissioners will be trying to find more money for this office through the amendment process.  Comm. Tobolski stated that he is looking to cut more from the Health & Hospitals budget to provide more for the State’s Attorney.

-- reported by Priscilla Mims

November 7, 2011 Meetings of the Budget: Assessor, Board of Review, Recorder of Deeds

Assessor

Proposed budget represents a 9% decrease from 2011, with 23 positions cut.  Of these, only half will result in actual layoffs as the others are currently vacant.  Assessor Joseph Berrios disputed claims made by people at public hearings that union members are being laid off while the Assessor filled higher paid positions.  The Assessor stated that he cut the higher paid positions (often those making over $100,000), and with 95% of the workforce in the union, that resulted in union employees being affected.  He said that his goal was to keep as many positions as possible in order to deal with all the work of the office, so he determined reducing the higher-paid positions would have the least negative effect on his office.  However, in reviewing the budget book, it appears that the actual number of positions has gone up by 32.5.  None of the Commissioners asked about this.

Assessor Berrios touted the fact that his office has implemented online appeals, and he expects to complete the triennial reassessment for the southern suburbs by December 10.  This will allow his office to begin work on the Chicago triennial then.  By finishing earlier than in the past, this will allow the Board of Review to begin their work of hearing appeals from the Assessor’s reassessments sooner, which in turn should help speed up the process of getting the 2^nd installment of the property tax bills out sooner.  It has been 34 (!!!) years since Cook County got the 2^nd installment out by August 1, which is what the statute calls for.

Board of Review

The elected members of the Board of Review, Larry Rogers, Jr., Dan Patlak, and Michael Cabonargi are seeking $7.9 million rather than the $7 million proposed by the President.  They stated that the extra $900 thousand would allow the Board to finish hearing appeals in time to allow the 2^nd installment tax bills to go out by Aug. 1, 2012 for the first time in 34 years!

The Board of Review, working with the Assessor’s Office and the Bureau of Technology, is also implementing online appeals.  While this should help the Board cut expenses in the future, for this interim period as they implement new processes, this extra money is needed according to the Board. 

The Commissioners who spoke (Sims, Silvestri, Murphy, Tobolski, Fritchey and Suffredin) all expressed support for the Board’s request, except for Comm. Gorman.  She appeared to accept the Budget Director’s point that even with turnover and unfilled positions this year (including the fact that Mr. Cabonargi did not take office until Feb.), the Board was able to finish its work sooner than last year, albeit that the bills still went out 2 months late.  However, the other Commissioners urged that the Budget Dept. continue to work to see about finding additional money for the Board of Review.  Their concern was that the other governmental entities (cities/towns, schools, libraries, park districts, etc.) who depend on property taxes have significant additional costs if the tax bills do not go out on time.

Recorder of Deeds

Deputy Recorder Darlena Williams-Burnett made the presentation because Recorder Eugene Moore was home recuperating.  Most of the presentation was a defense that the Office needed to continue to be independent.  Comm. Fritchey, separate from this proposed budget, has proffered that the duties of the Recorder should be placed under the County Clerk and the separately elected office of Recorder eliminated.  Since Mr. Moore has stated that he is not going to run for reelection in 2012, Comm. Fritchey has stated that this is the perfect time to eliminate this elected position.  He said that he expects savings of $800,000 to $1 million, and that he now believes the merging of the offices could be done in a matter of a few months.  Comm. Fritchey says he plans to offer a proposal to the full Board of Commissioners which would place the issue of eliminating the Recorder of Deeds position before the voters in 2012.

There was no discussion of the proposed budget of the Recorder.

Nov. 3, 2011 Public Hearing on the Budget at the County Building

Those Testifying Generally Either Against Proposed Fee and Tax Increases or For More Spending to Save Jobs and Services

The Nov. 3 hearing in the County Building is one of four public meetings being held to obtain citizen input on the proposed budget.  The Board was left in a quandary:  if they don’t enact the proposed tax and fee increases, they will need to either increase other revenues or cut the proposed spending further, which means more jobs lost.  And in order to save some of the jobs that will be lost under the proposed budget, more revenues or other cuts will be needed.  But with about 70% of the budget covering employee costs already, there isn’t much left to be cut that doesn’t entail cutting jobs.

Commissioners who were there (Daley, Fritchey, Silvestri, and Suffredin throughout; plus, for a portion of the time, Butler, Gainer, Gorman, Schneider, Sims, and Tobolski) heard business owners complain about the proposed expansion of the cigarette tax to cover all tobacco products, the proposed increase in the alcohol tax, the proposed increase in the use tax on the sale of boats, and the proposed tax on amusement devices (such as juke boxes, pinball, and video poker machines).  The president of a homeowners’ association in unincorporated Cook County spoke against the proposal to create special service areas to cover the incremental costs of the Sheriff providing police services.

They also heard from very emotional employees in such areas as the offices of the State’s Attorney and Public Defender who have already received layoff notices in anticipation of the proposed budget being passed.  Doctors also appeared seeking more money for the Health & Hospitals System.  One woman testified that she was a 29-year employee at the information desk at 26^th & California who had received notice that she was being laid off.  She has just one year to go before she could take retirement.  Some of the employees expressed disappointment that there weren’t more Commissioners there to hear them.

The Civic Federation also testified in support of the overall budget, explaining that it had just issued a 77-page report on the budget.

Chairman Daley asked those testifying against fee and tax increases if they had suggestions as to where additional revenues might be found.  Comm. Suffredin mentioned that the County might have to look at the property tax levy, which hasn’t been raised since the early 1990’s.  Chairman Daley pointed out that none of the elected officials had spoken in favor of maintaining the sales tax when the Board voted to reduce it last Feb.   

Chairman Daley mentioned that the Finance Committee is expecting to vote on the proposed revenue increases on Nov. 14.

--  reported by Priscilla Mims

Nov. 2, 2011 Budget Departmental Budget Meetings

Chicago Board of Election Comissioners; Cook County Board of Commissioners; Independent Inspector General

Chicago Board of Election Commissioners

Under the proposed budget, this Election Board, which has jurisdiction over all elections within the City of Chicago, will receive $17.4 million from the County.  This covers only 4 employees: the Chairman and 2 Election Commissioners, plus the Executive Director.  In addition, the County pays the fees for election judges and other related expenses as set forth in the statute which created the Board.  The rest of the expenses for conducting elections in 2012 (the primary and general elections), including the salaries and benefits for all other employees, will come from the City and amounts to another $14.2 million for a total of $31.6 million.  The City has about 1.4 million voters, about the same as the suburbs in Cook County, which fall under the election jurisdiction of the County Clerk.  Comm. Schneider noted that the Clerk was asking for $24.6 million, and wondered why the City’s Election Board needed $5 million more.  Chairman Landgdon Neal explained that the County Clerk is able to call upon services of other County Departments, while the Election Board had to provide its own IT, purchasing, and legal counsel, etc.  (Not asked or answered was why the Election Board couldn’t look to the City to provide some of the services the Clerk receives from the County.)

Chairman Neal said that in order to compare the 2012 budget, one should look at the last year in which there was a presidential election; namely, 2008.  The 2008 budget was 1% greater, and included $3 million from the Help America to Vote Act.  A chief reason for the reduction for 2012 is that the Election Board intends to reduce the number of precincts by 20%, which amounts to about 500 less precincts.  Because of Early Voting and “no-fault” Absentee Voting, there are fewer people actually voting on election day, which allows this consolidation without creating long lines.  Fewer precincts mean fewer election judges and fewer sites that have to be rented.

The Election Board is not proposing to add any new touch-screen equipment, and, in fact, the company that supplied what both the City and County have, no longer makes that model.

Chairman Neal touted the 2,000 high school and 2,000 college students who have been helping on election day, and he says that no other election authority in the country can boast so high a number of young people participating.

Unlike past years, none of the Commissioners raised the question about cost savings should the election duties of the Chicago Board of Elections and the County Clerk be merged under one entity.

Cook County Board of Commissioners

While this meeting supposedly was to cover the departments of the Secretary to the Board and each of the County Commissioners, only the budget for the Secretary to the Board was discussed.  Surprisingly, several of the Commissioners took this public meeting time to ask the Secretary, Matthew DeLeon, about any changes in procedures as a result of Mr. DeLeon and part of his staff moving to a different floor from where the Commissioners have their offices. 

The other main area of questions was directed to the two new positions for legal counsel and administrative assistant called for in the budget.  Many of the Commissioners seemed to have forgotten that they had voted to amend the 2011 budget to add these 3 positions.  This was done in the late hours of the day prior to final passage of the budget, which is why the Commissioners may have forgotten about it.  Another reason may be that the positions have still not been filled.  This is due to the fact that they would be exempt from the Shakman decree (which prohibits the hiring and firing based on politics) and so the County had to seek court approval for the positions before filling them.  There were some questions about the need for these positions and whether they could be eliminated in order to provide some money for salary increases for Commissioners staff whose salaries are proposed to be frozen from 2011.

Mr. DeLeon stated that new cameras for the Board room were being purchased that should allow Board and Committee meetings to be broadcast live on the County’s web site.  Commissioners Suffredin, Tobolski and Silvestri all suggested additional equipment, such as tote boards (for recording votes), screens and projection equipment so the audience in the room (and watching on Channel 900 or on the web) could better follow what is occurring.  This is an issue the League recently raised with Commissioners in letters to all and meetings with many of them.

Even though there was no discussion about the Commissioners’ budgets, which the President is recommending be kept at $360,000 for each (same as that in 2011), this observer noted that the President is also recommending that the number of FTEs for Commissioners Collins (1^st) Steele (2^nd), Murphy (6^th), and Gorman (17^th) be reduced to 1 (just themselves and no staff).  I verified with Commissioner Tobolski that this is not a typo in the budget book.  Expect this to change, but obviously, the President was sending a message.

Independent Inspector General

Patrick Blanchard, the Independent Inspector General, has one of the few areas where the number of employees and overall budget is proposed to be increased.  He explained that his office is dealing with an increase of about 10% in complaints, and he expects to add 2 more people to deal with Shakman decree-related oversight.  He stated that he expects that the Federal Court to find that the County and Forest Preserve District (which his office is also dealing with through an inter-governmental agreement) and Recorder of Deeds’ office to be in compliance with the Shakman Decree in 2012, in part because of the oversight to be provided by his office.  If so, the County will save significant money being paid to the Court-appointed compliance officers and other related costs.  (Note that the Sheriff’s office, the other area in the County that had been under court oversight, has been found to be in compliance by the Court earlier this year.)

Comm. Beavers questioned Mr. Blanchard about his investigation into the $90 million error in the County’s 2010 Annual Report.  Mr. Blanchard stated that there were numerous factors which resulted in the error and it was not appropriate to put the blame on a single person.  Comm. Beavers stated that he thought the President had done just that by firing two people, including the prior Comptroller.

-- reported by Priscilla Mims