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In the previous few weeks, some aldermen had groused that they didn’t have enough time to scrutinize the budget before they had to vote on it. What none wanted to admit publicly is that the budget documents are, frankly, complicated and confusing. The line item sections of the budget–which show some detail about how taxpayer money is spent in each department–are organized by revenue stream rather than overall expenditures. This means that if you want to see, say, how many employees Streets & San will have next year and how much they’re being paid, you’d need to look several places and then add the numbers up on your own–even in the document labeled by the city as a “budget summary.”
To make matters more perplexing, some of the line items aren’t complete. For certain jobs, the number of positions is listed but not the pay rate. For others, such as laborer positions, the hourly rate is included in the budget but not the number of people who’ll be paid at that rate. “The following employees, as needed, are authorized to be employed when requested by the department head concerned and approved by the Budget Director,” reads the line item for a section of the Department of General Services.
Here’s how it worked out this year by department:
CITY PAYROLL BY DEPARTMENT
11/14/2007 Payroll
Budgeted 2007
Unbudgeted positions on payroll
001- OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
81
78
3
003- OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
59
61
-2
004- O’HARE MODERNIZATION PROGRAM
32
55
-23
005- OFFICE OF BUDGET & MANAGEMENT
66
47
19
006- BUSINESS & INFORMATION SERVICES
83
92
-9
008- PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
175
170
5
013- OFFICE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
62
67
-5
015- CITY COUNCIL
353
234
119
021- DEPT OF HOUSING
148
-22
023- DEPT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS
72
70
2
024- SPECIAL EVENTS
142
025- CITY CLERK
115
129
-14
027- DEPT OF FINANCE
220
231
-11
028- CITY TREASURER
22
23
-1
029- DEPT OF REVENUE
401
446
-45
030- ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
50
0
031- DEPT OF LAW
517
500
17
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
033- DEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
122
035- DEPT OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES
111
136
-25
037- GRAPHICS & REPRODUCTION CENTER
39
43
-4
038- DEPT OF GENERAL SERVICES
481
488
-7
039- BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONER
128
137
040- DEPT OF FLEET MGMT
749
625
124
041- DEPT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
1216
1460
-244
045- COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS
38
42
047- DEPT OF AGING
501
379
048- OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY
40
-3
052- DEPT OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES
199
264
-65
053- DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES
209
255
-46
055- POLICE BOARD
OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
057- DEPT OF POLICE
15826
16196
-370
POLICE–CAPS OFFICE
74
-74
058- OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MGMT & COMMUNICATION
1731
1256
475
059- FIRE DEPARTMENT
5058
5197
-139
061- DEPT OF ZONING
41
067- DEPT OF BUILDINGS
273
343
-70
068- DEPT OF CONSTRUCTION & PERMITS
88
104
-16
071- DEPT OF CONSUMER SERVICES
121
-21
072- ENVIRONMENT
96
94
073- COMM ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL
73
85
-12
076- DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LICENSING
99
077- LICENSE APPEAL COMMISSION
1
078- BOARD OF ETHICS
8
11
081- DEPT OF STREETS & SANITATION
3232
3544
-312
084- TRANSPORTATION
1166
829
337
085- DEPT OF AVIATION
1468
1500
-32
088- DEPT OF WATER MANAGEMENT
2088
2460
-372
091- CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY
1309
1466
-157
Grand Total
39109
39950
-841
