Plans for $338M in Capital Investments Outlined

Cook County 2016 Budget Hearings - Capital Budget    October 26, 2015

Ivan Samstein, Cook County CFO, presented an overview of the Capital Budget for the county including Capital Equipment and Capital Improvements. He explained that most of the projects included within this part of the budget are multi-year projects and the monies to pay for the expenditures for the various projects come from debt proceeds (meaning issuing of bonds or borrowing), grants, or pay as you go funds such as the Motor Fuel Tax. His slide presentation can be viewed by clicking FY16 Capital Budget Presentation.

The Proposed Capital Budget for 2016 is $338.8M in Total Capital Investments with $199M for Capital Improvements to county facilities, $74.7M in Capital Equipment, and $65.1M in Highway/Transportation projects for county maintained roads and bridges. In 2016 about 75% of the money for the projects will be from debt proceeds and about $80M will be pay as you go funds.

Phil Boothby, Director of Capital Planning, was asked to present the plans for the $199M for Capital Improvements in 2016. These expenditures are part of the 2016-2025 $1.4B program developed for the county for capital improvements. Facility assessments have been done on all properties and work has been prioritized. Expenditures in 2016 will include warehouse and print shop consolidation, Pedway improvements, board room improvements, demolition at the jail, and improvements at Stroger Hospital.

John Yonan, Superintendent of the Highway Dept., presented the plans for the $64M for highways. There is now a Long Range Transportation Plan for the county from now until 2040. He stated that prior to now there had been no plan for the past 70 years. As part of the plan within the next 4 years it is expected that all Motor Fuel Tax money will go into transportation cost and not be diverted into the general fund. He outlined several projects for 2016 that mostly involve pavement rehab and bridge repair throughout the county - highlighting work on Lake/Cook Rd. and Plainfield Rd. 

Tanya Anthoney, Budget Director, outlined the recommendation for Capital Equipment. She stated that each department submitted their requests, totaling $128m, and the proposed budget pared this down to include $74.7M for equipment - 83% of which is for IT projects.

Simona Rollinson, Chief Information Officer, then outlined the continuing efforts to modernize IT operations throughout the county. She said the negotiations with the departments were intense but she believes the $62M requested for IT in the budget will continue the progress that is being made. The countywide Time and Attendance system is intended to be implemented in 2016. She said that many of the projects are already authorized as part of the Enterprise Resource Planning Business Process which includes the Time and Attendance as well as HR and other functions.

After all these presentations only Comm. Sylvestri and Morrison had questions and both centered on whether, after significant and ongoing financial commitment, the county was becoming a modern technological entity capable of achieving efficiencies based on the investments being made. Ms. Rollinson stated that continued investment is necessary. Integrating the systems of the Sheriff and the Courts is still a process that will take continued investment over the next 4-5 years. She stated that the Time/Attendance technology will be the most tangible measure to be seen in 2016. Comm. Morrison requested an itemized list of the IT investments authorized by the board and she said she would provide it to him.

Comm. Daley ended the meaning by pointing out that this Capital Budget presentation and plan is a big change from previous years when Capital Equipment/Improvement was 1 line in the budget with no explanation or plan.

No mention was made of STAR performance measures and since capital costs run across all departments any measures may be integrated into the individual departments.

Further explanation of the Capital Budget can be found within the budget book. 

Submitted by Cynthia Schilsky, observer

Jail Population Down, But the Mentally Ill, Illegal Guns and Other Challenges for Sheriff

2016 Cook County Proposed Budget:  Sheriff, November 2, 2015

In his opening remarks, Sheriff Dart announced the closing of 3 divisions (the oldest ones) of the Cook County Jail since the population is down. He wanted to make it very clear that he had an understanding with President Preckwinkle, however, that if the jail population should spike again, money would be set aside to rebuild a division. Currently, the jail population is around 8,000, down from over 10,000 just a few years ago. Electronic monitoring, in lieu of detention, accounts for about 2,000 at present. He does not want to get into a situation in which overcrowding is a problem.  However, he pointed out that his mental health division is always overcrowded. He also talked about the high numbers of illegal guns his officers have confiscated in the southern suburbs.

   

Many commissioners asked about the cost savings of closing 3 divisions. The sheriff made the point that the cost savings for the closings cannot be measured “dollar for dollar”.  For example, when he closes these divisions, the employees who used to staff them, along with the personnel costs, are not let go.  Instead, he utilizes those employees within the other buildings in order to bring down the high costs of overtime.  While the jail population is down, he has more people to attend to who are on Electronic Monitoring. He also is spending more on health care professionals in his mental health unit and special treatment center. He is also training several police forces in the southern suburbs and sending more officers to those areas throughout the county that need help.

Commissioner Boykin called the sheriff the “best sheriff in all of the USA" and commended him for doing a difficult job quite well. Most of the commissioners had a great deal of praise for the job Sheriff Dart was doing. When asked about mental health, the sheriff spoke at length about his new Mental Health Treatment Setting in the area that was once the boot camp. He also said that the heroin epidemic was tied to some extent to the issue of mental health in that some detainees use heroin instead of prescription drugs to ease their difficulties.

Commissioner Garcia asked about the role of the new Gun Violence Coordinator that was just approved by the Board. Sheriff Dart explained the work he and the sheriffs from several counties in NW Indiana are doing in order to work together to stop the sale of illegal guns. This coordinator could help with that. In addition he praised the Lyons government and the gun shop in Lyons which negotiated on a new ordinance that, among other things, institutes a requirement for the gun shop to have a “Do Not Sell List” for people who are known to be purchasing guns for others (“straw buyers”). This store will also notify the police if a person is turned down for a sale. The coordinator could help this become the model for other towns. (Three gun stores were recently sued for perpetuating gun violence. The Lyons Gun Store settled out of court with these new rules).

Commissioner Murphy asked if the old Boot Camp program was completely gone. The sheriff explained that he stopped the old program because the results did not warrant the cost and did not assist the men in the program in getting a job. The new program is training detainees in carpentry, plumbing, and other trades by tearing down and refreshing abandoned buildings throughout the county.  He is sure that the new program will have better results. She also asked about using the RICO statute to go after gang leaders. He thought that RICO was a very complicated statute and is tough to use in prosecution. He also noted that the “War on Drugs” has failed.

Commissioner Suffredin appreciated that closing 3 buildings would not bring the massive savings that everyone wanted. He did want to know where most of the increase in costs proposed in the budget were being applied. The sheriff said that mostly the costs went to COLA’S and step increases for employees.  He also said that his IT budget was higher than before. There was some talk later on among Commissioners Daley, Gainer and the sheriff about pulling back some automatic raises for non-union employees in departments under the elected officials that are due to take effect December 1 in order that the elected official could reallocate the money to reflect job performance. Daley said that this idea could be considered at the Nov. 18 Board Meeting (the last one before Dec. 1).   

No one at this hearing discussed STAR goals or targets, but the budget book mentioned several. Some of the overall goals for the Sheriff’s Office include compliance with the Shakman decision in hiring, reviewing revenues to bring down costs, and having more transparency for his programs. For the sheriff's police some STAR goals include improving the Child Protection Response unit and more illegal gun recovery. And for the jail some STAR goals include enrolling more detainees in mental health programs and improving the discharge procedures so that detainees know where they can get mental health help, housing and job information.

Submitted by Jan Goldberg, League Observer

Chief Judge Urges Restoring $3.4 Million to Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program

2016 Cook County Proposed Budget:  Chief Judge, October 30, 2015

Chief Judge Timothy Evans came prepared to secure support from the Commissioners for restoring the $3.4 million cut from his requested budget by the President in her Executive Budget.  This money would be used to hire outside attorneys to advise homeowners during mortgage foreclosure hearings.  In the President’s remarks in presenting the Executive Budget, the President had said this money was cut in recognition that the number of new foreclosure proceedings had fallen 52% (the Budget Director on Friday stated that the figure was now 67%).  Money for 8 County employees dedicated to the program was retained.

Chief Judge Evans argued that the $3.4 million should be restored because (1) there are currently 32,000 cases pending in the system which need to be dealt with, and (2) while new foreclosure cases have dropped considerably, there are still roughly 1,400 new cases being filed each month currently.  The Chief Judge said the outside attorneys were needed to advise the homeowners, which the County employees, who are part of the judiciary, could not do.  The Chief Judge also had examples of homeowners who had been helped by the program in each of the Commissioners’ districts.  It was clear that a number of the Commissioners were prepared to try to find all or at least part of the $3.4 million, though it was not clear where that money would come from.

Chief Judge Touts New Public Safety Assessment Tool

Chief Judge Evans was enthusiastic about the new Public Safety Assessment Tool being used in Bond Court to assist judges in determining whether and how much of a bond was necessary. The concept behind this tool is that it will scientifically help predict whether an accused person will show up for trial if released and whether the accused would be likely to commit a crime if released.  The Chief Judge says that so far the tool is working well: the monthly reports show that only 2% of those released have failed to show up and only 2% have committed crimes while released. These numbers compare favorably with Washington, D.C. where another tool has long been in place and which has been considered a model program with 6% of those not showing up and 6% committing crimes while released.

Commissioner Garcia said he had heard there were some issues with regard to how the different judges were using the tool. Judge Evans explained that each judge by state statute has to consider 36 parameters when determining a bond, and that this was an additional tool.  But ultimately, it is the judge who has to decide.  Further, this new assessment tool is only being fully implemented as of January 1, and it is only then that he will be able to see how often judges differ.

The Chief Judge also explained that his office had worked with the other Public Safety stakeholders, including the Illinois Crime Lab, to reduce the probable cause process from 21 to 14 days.  One improvement is that the State’s Attorney’s lawyers are now exchanging all evidence with the Public Defender’s attorneys prior to the bond hearing, as opposed to later after arraignment.  Chief Judge Evans, like the other Public Safety officials and departments, also cited the reduction in the average daily jail population from over 10,000 to 8,000. 

Chief Judge Adopting National Benchmarks for Comparing Case Disposals

The Chief Judge has been the one Cook County official who has refused to participate in the County’s STAR Performance Management program, citing the need to separate the departments under him from the Executive and Legislative branches.  But in a response to Commissioner Schneider’s question as to how Cook County courts are doing with case backlogs, Chief Judge Evans said that he was now using the American Bar Association and another national set of benchmarks to see how well the Cook County courts were doing in the time being taken to dispose of a case.  He said that for criminal cases, Cook County was about 80% there, though he did not provide any more specifics.

Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC)

Leonard Dixon, the new Superintendent of the JTDC, which is under the Chief Judge, was questioned by Commissioner Gainer as to whether it was sustainable to manage a workforce at the JTDC which had 193 FTEs (or about 1/3 of the total FTEs) out on leave. Mr. Dixon said this was a nation-wide problem, but offered no specifics as to what he might do to try to deal with this issue. Mr. Dixon received kudos from a number of Commissioners from both parties as to what they have seen thus far at the JTDC under his leadership. 

Commissioner Gainer pressed the Chief Judge to allow Mr. Dixon to meet with the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, which had been established by unanimous vote of the Cook County Board and which is made up of volunteers with experience with youths.  After several minutes of back and forth, the Chief Judge agreed to that.

-- Priscilla Mims, League Observer

Dept. of Homeland Security & Emergency Management Budget Review

2015 Cook County Budget Department Review: Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

October 29, 2015

 

On Oct. 29th, the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management met with the Finance Committee to discuss its budget. Commissioners Boykin, Tobolski, Morrison, Arroyo, Suffredin, Steele, and Schneider were present. All but Commissioner Schneider asked questions. All welcomed the new Director, Ernest Brown, who has only been on the job for 2 weeks. All stated that they looked forward to working with him in the future. To answer many of his questions, Mr. Brown deferred to his Chief of Staff and his Finance Director.  The purpose of this department is to respond to both natural and man-made disasters.

 

Three STAR goals were stated for this department in the budget book. They include more training courses for first responders, sharing notifications for federal grants with other county departments, and improving the arrival time for emergency personnel. Commissioner Suffredin was the only one to quote STAR goals in his questions, although Commissioner Steele did refer to including more types of personnel in the training courses. Commissioner Steele asked if funeral directors, religious leaders, and hospital workers could be included with the other first responders (police and fire fighters, for example) because they, too, should be trained in keeping communities calm and cared for in an emergency. Mr. Brown seemed to agree that including the community leaders in training was a good idea. Comm. Steele also asked if Mr. Brown had met with Dr. King, the director of the Illinois Medical District, since she works with bio-tech issues and wants to be part of this department’s work. Mr. Brown agreed to meet with her.

     

Commissioner Suffredin spent a good deal of time asking about specific federal grants, since most of this department’s budget is from such grants. He asked about the STAR goal of sharing grants. The Finance Director said that he would share notification for the application for such grants with other CC Departments such as the jail, forest preserves, and the state’s attorneys’ office. He also asked about the STAR goal of improving deployment times for emergency personnel. The budget showed a target last year of 14 minutes, yet the current goal was 60 minutes. The director said that he wanted the target to be “realistic” and that last year’s target was not.

 

Commissioner Tobolski praised the former Director, Michael Masters, for his work in uniting the 134 communities of Cook County in writing preparedness plans for evacuations and emergency planning. He said that without such plans, emergency aid does not come through from the federal government. He asked if we were currently prepared enough for such emergencies.  Mr. Brown assured him that we were and said he appreciated the need for all communities to work together on this.

 

A good deal of time was spent discussing what this department CANNOT do. Grant money from the federal government comes with some very specific stipulations, said the director. So when Commissioner Boykin asked if some money could be spent combating “narco-terrorism” (pipeline of hard drugs coming right into Chicago), the director said that he shares the concern over this problem, but his department cannot use grant money for it. The director did note that he works with the Sheriff’s department on communications and technical projects. Commissioner Suffredin also asked if some money could be used to combat the recent heroin epidemic (especially the overdosing on “bad” heroin). Again the director said that grant money could not be used for this purpose.

 

There was some discussion of the high salaries of some of the employees in this department, especially those who were paid with grant money. The director said that some personnel are highly technical computer experts who are trained to combat cyberterrorism, a real threat. He said that he was competing with the private sector for some of these experts.

 

Director Brown thanked the committee for the opportunity to explain his department’s budget and promised to be much more prepared next year, when he had more than 2 weeks on the job.

Submitted by Jan Goldberg

Efficient space utilization, consolidation, compliance with regulations undergird plans for long term cost savings for Bureau of Asset Management

Cook County 2016 Budget Hearings: Bureau of Asset Management, Oct. 26, 2015

The Bureau of Asset Management was created in 2015 and now includes:

•    Cook County Hospital Strategic Redevelopment

•    Dept. of Capital Planning and Development

•    Facilities Management

•    Real Estate Management

Total recommended appropriation for the Bureau of Asset Management is $47,591,611 with 537.2 FTE’s.

Elaine Lockwood Bean, the newly appointed Chief of Asset Management, provided an overview of the bureau and then each department director provided more specific information. The intended purpose of the reorganization of this bureau is to enhance services and decrease long term costs throughout Cook County government. 

Jessica Caffrey summarized the redevelopment plans for Cook County Hospital. There are two plans for Central Campus, the area around Stroger Hospital. The Core Medical plan involves the demolition of Fantus Clinic and the creation of a new ambulatory clinic. The Market Rate Plan involves creating a new vision for old Cook County Hospital and the area surrounding it. Plans are proceeding to find a developer and to devise a long term lease plan to support such a project.

Phil Boothby, Director of Capital Planning, summarized the 2015 accomplishments dealing with procurement methods and energy efficiency projects. Plans for 2016 include looking at all facilities to bring them into ADA compliance, warehouse consolidations, and locating space for Community Based Health Centers.

Anna Ashcroft, Director of Real Estate Management, outlined the ongoing efforts of her department to decrease the amount of leased office space the county occupies and to generally reduce the amount of space occupied by county offices so as to free up space within county owned facilities to allow for leasing to other entities. This department also recommends the demolition or evacuation of underutilized facilities. Leasing of vacant space has increased revenue to the county by $2m and her office intends to double that in the next years. The 2016 goal is to have 7 floors in the 69 W. Washington building ready for leasing. Warehouse consolidations are in process as well. 18 departments have also been reviewed for consolidation.

Bilquis Jacobs-El stated that Facilities Management did meet their STAR Goal of compliance with the Dept. of Justice order concerning fire and life safety issues at all facilities. She also stated they had reached their goal of 183,908 completed work orders.

Questions from commissioners centered on what the cost savings are associated with consolidation of space and demolition of buildings. Comm. Gainer was concerned with how long term disability was handled within Facilities Management and what the constraints are on returning someone to work after they are out on disability. Human Resources will respond to her request for information. She also was concerned that routine maintenance be done so that large contracts did not have to be approved on an emergency basis i.e. when $44m was needed quickly to replace the cooler at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

The Bureau Chief and the Directors all indicated that often the projects they work on last longer than one year and thus carry over from previous budgets or on to subsequent budgets. 

--Submitted by Cynthia Schilsky