Departmental Review for 2014 Budget October 17, 2013

Bureau Of Finance

Ivan Samstein, the Chief Financial Officer of the Bureau of Finance presented an overview of the 2014 budget for the Commissioners:

Proposed Budget is $3.2 billion which includes no new taxes, fines or fees.  It does include a large increase in anticipated CC Health and Hospitals System [HHS] payments of $86.5 million due to the so far successful early enrollment in the CountyCare Medicaid Program paid for by the Federal Affordable Care Act.  This will be used to support the HHS transformation from emergency care to preventative and primary care.

The budget also includes a 21% increase in grant revenue including a $4.5 million grant from the Illinois Attorney General to the Cook County Land Authority – a new agency charged with bringing vacant and abandoned properties back to productive use.  Commissioner Gainer is the chairwoman of the new land bank board which is opening for business this fall.  The President’s goal is to increase budget-wide grant funding from $147 million in 2014 to $200 million over the next five years. 

Several departments and budget areas will be adding more employees.  For example, the Medical Examiner will add more than 20 employees which will bolster its efforts to achieve national accreditation.  Public Safety Funding increases by $31.4 million over 2013 due to mandated Federal hiring at the jail and a shift that moves 17-year olds charged with felonies from the adult court system to the juvenile system.

The Bureau of Technology is investing $1.5 million to expand and improve the County’s aging broadband networks.  There will also be investments in the Office of the Independent Inspector General’s case management system to improve its ability to “root out and reduce misconduct”.

A charge for courthouse parking for visitors and employees is a new initiative and outside vendors are being interviewed.  Revenues of $2.9 million are expected to start generating in the 2^nd quarter. Commissioner Suffredin said that he will bring a proposal to the next Commissioners meeting requiring the Administration to negotiate with the unions over this new parking expense. 

In 2014 the county will pay $193 million into the Pension fund which is the maximum allowable under State Law.  It has also budgeted $186 million in debt service costs for capital projects and self insurance.  This $186 million will rise over time to $300 million [2017] and then is projected to stay stable for several years before dropping off slightly.  Currently, CC has $3.7 billion in outstanding bond debt.  Because of Moody's downgrade of the County's creditworthiness, the cost to service that debt is projected to increase $300,000 to $400,000.

  

Sources of Income as it relates to total budget                                                       

Fees [including CountyCare]    34.5%

Home Rule Taxes     21.6%

Property Taxes [excludes uncollected]     20.3%

Capital                                                                                      9.3%

Grants [homeland security & block grants]                         4.6%

Intergovernmental Revenues                                     3.9%

Dedicated special Purpose Funds                            3.4%

Personal Property Replacement Tax & Other        2.4%

Expenses as a percent of Total

Health & Hospital Systems                                       32.3%

Public Safety  [courts & jails]                                    30.6%

Fixed [debt service, benefits, utilities]                     20.5%

Capital Improvement                                                             9.3%

Gen. Gov., Finance, and Adm.                                   3.7%

Property & Taxation                                                  2.7%

Economic Development                                                .8%

Departments under the Bureau of Finance:

Revenue

Risk Management   

Budget & Management Services

Comptroller

Office of Contract Compliance

Enterprise & Resource Planning

Chief Procurement Officer

Commissioner Gainer asked the department of Risk Management which handles worker’s compensation, health benefits, and general liability to work with the Dept. of Revenue to think outside the box in this time of expanded health care opportunities because of the Affordable Care Act.  She asked what the department’s goals are for 2014 and was answered “I want to get the quirks out of plan designs in the union Health Care Plans”.  It is worth noting that there are 95 separate bargaining agreements that involve health benefit coverage.

Commissioner Suffredin asked if Cook County is considering offering the Health and Hospital employees the opportunity to join CountyCare at a discounted rate.  He also said that he did not see any STAR performance goals for this department.

Under the Presentation from the Dept. of Revenue, it was noted that the County is stepping up enforcement of the Alcohol tax.  It will identify wholesalers and distributors to be audited to ensure that they are in compliance with the code.   The Non-Titled Use Tax is not in the 2014 budget but the County is appealing the court decision.  The Firearms Tax is projected to go from $501,000 in 2013 to $750,000 in 2014, and the Tobacco tax revenue was raised by $6 million.

The newly formed Enterprise and Resource Planning Department will provide services county-wide and reflects the Administration’s commitment to improving  Financial Technology Systems.   This includes a new payroll system.  Most of these projects will be financed through the Capital Funds.  A goal is to bring a new Time and Attendance System to the Board of Commissioners by the end of the year.

The Department of Contract Compliance is for the first time in 2014 adding Veterans as a covered group.  No goals were discussed.  The department will develop a new certification and compliance management system at the completion of its Diversity Disparity Study – also in 2014.  A new position will be added that will be dedicated solely to Health and Hospital Systems contracts, funded by HHS, but housed under the Administration’s Department of Contract Compliance.

Four new employees will be added to the Comptroller Department under payroll, general ledger, and professional staff in the reporting area.  Goals for 2014 include maintaining a vendor payment system that, on average, goes out in 31 days.  The Illinois local government statutory requirement is payment within 60 days.  It will up to the Comptroller’s office to implement the new payroll system.

On a final note, Commissioner Simms stated that as the Federal Block Grants money continue to decline and is no longer used exclusively for infrastructure,  the County needs to set a goal of finding more grant money for county highways.

submitted by Diane Edmundson