As Cook County leaders look ahead to a slimmed down 2010 budget, some commissioners are seeing their personal budgets grow, despite a county-wide mandate requiring offices to cut their expenditures.
Earlier this year, some county departments were asked to trim their 2010 budgets by 5 percent; if they didn’t do that in their budget requests, their 2010 budgets were cut by 3 percent. But agencies that did cut 5 percent in 2009 were asked to cut a further 1.5 percent from their 2010 budgets.
Essentially that means that those offices that did cut 5 percent from their budgets are working on a 6.5 percent cut, while those that did not comply face only a 3 percent cut. It has some commissioners crying foul, and wondering why the county's budget office didn't enforce the 5 percent cuts.
In fact, while some commissioners trimmed their budget by 5 percent (six of them, to be precise), some appropriations actually increased. It's unclear why the 5 percent cuts weren't enforced, and we're trying to find out.
“I don’t know how you cut your budget 5 percent and get more money,” says Commissioner Peter Silvestri. “I wish I could do that with my stocks. That would be great.”
“For me, for following the rules, I’m getting cut double what everyone else does,” says Commissioner Greg Goslin, who shaved more than $21,000 from his $428,474 2009 budget.
Leading the pack is Commissioner John Daley, whose 2010 budget is about $525,000. Daley’s budget is far and away the largest, partly because he is the longest tenured commissioner and chairs the board’s finance committee.
Next is Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno, whose 2010 budget is about $458,000. Moreno was elected in 1994, the same year as Silvestri (~$356,000) and Deborah Sims (~$417,000). Moreno’s budget is essentially the same as it was for 2009, while Sims’ office requested and was allotted $23,895 more.
See how much commissioners get (Excel file not adjusted for 1.5 to 3 percent cuts)
Commissioner Tony Peraica has the smallest budget, at about $319,440. But even Peraica – who introduced an amendment that would cap allotments at $325,000 – asked for a boost in his budget, to the tune of $4,455.
Peraica’s chief of staff, Michael Manzo, says his office has been cutting expenses, including shuttering a district office and laying off a staff member.
“The problem is we’ve had to do more with less, while other commissioners have been adding staff,” Manzo says.
Goslin says a system that rewards longevity is messing with the budget.
“Here’s the problem with that: Depending on how long you’ve been there, and how long your staff’s been there, there are different dollar amounts,” he says.
So that means that someone like Daley is inherently going to have a larger budget. But newer commissioners, like Edwin Reyes and Bridget Gainer, should be at the bottom of the list. Gainer cut 5 percent from her budget, and ranks 15th of out 17 in terms of her budget amount.
But Reyes – tapped to replace former Commissioner Roberto Maldonado this summer – sits at number seven, and in fact was awarded an increase of more than $49,000 for 2010, a massive 13 percent increase. (We’re trying to confirm that Reyes’ budget is different than what’s included in the budget recommendations. It may be that his 2010 budget is actually much smaller. However, it is published as $430,000 – not taking into account the 3 percent cut.)
“I think there’s too much disparity in what different offices generate,” Silvestri says. “I have less staff, and I’ve had to negotiate my lease to comply with the 5 percent cuts.”
Some commissioners complain that the county budget office was unable to enforce the 5 percent cuts. Other people say there are more opportunities for budget trimming.
“There’s still plenty to cut in the county budget,” Manzo says. “When commissioners say, and they say it quite often, ‘We’ve cut to the bare bones,’ that’s an insult to the taxpayers in Cook County.”
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