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* Mayor Daley’s brief government “shutdown” proposal is naturally getting a lot of media play…
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley wants to close government offices for a few days to help balance the city’s budget. He says the partial shutdown would help address a $469 million deficit.
Daley says most city offices would close for 3 days around the holidays this year and next.
Emergency services would not be effected. Daley says he’s doing his best to balance the budget during tough times.
* More…
The six-day shutdown will save $20 million, according to the Daley administration. The mayor hopes to save another $42 million by eliminating vacancies and putting in other cost-saving efforts.
Daley said he would refrain from filling 1,350 vacancies on the 38,000-strong city payroll, accounting for $29 million of that total.
There will still be layoffs, although the mayor declined to say how many. Daley previously has estimated that the city would let go more than 1,000 workers.
Labor unions that represent the vast majority of the city’s work force recently rejected a proposal from the Daley administration that their members take five unpaid days off work each year for the next four years.
* Consequences…
Lou Phillips, business manager of Laborers Union Local 1001, branded the partial shutdown a “backdoor furlough” that would cost his members 12 days of pay — not six — through 2009.
“In our contract, our members have to work the day before and the day after a holiday to get paid for it. So in effect, he’s taking away two days pay [for each day of shutdown] unless he agrees to pay the members for the holiday without working the day after,” he said.
“It’s a backdoor furlough. You’re shutting down city business. I don’t know if he can do that legally. The members are losing money. It’s not their fault. They have a job to do. At General Motors, they have no cars to make because nobody’s buying them. Everybody’s still throwing garbage out.”
With no garbage pick-ups on the day after Thanksgiving, Phillips also warned that Chicago alleys would stink to high heavens.
* But the partial shutdown isn’t the whole story….
*Downtown parking tax on tabs $12 and higher would increase from $2.25 to $3.
*Tax on tickets to major sporting events would go to 9 percent from 8 percent.
*Tax on tickets to smaller live music and theater shows would increase to 5 percent from 4 percent.
*Save $49 million by not filling 1,350 vacancies on the 38,000-strong city payroll.
*Slapping the Denver boot on cars with two tickets unpaid for at least a year.
*Installing more cameras to catch drivers who blow red lights and stopping commissions paid to tax-collection agencies.
*Save $60 million might be saved by extending city debt at a higher interest rate.
*Take $40 million would come from the recently approved lease of Midway Airport to a private operator.
* And Fran Spielman shows how Daley is to blame for the mess…
Property tax phobia
It might not seem like it after last year’s record $83.4 million increase, but fear of political backlash has prompted Daley to keep Chicago’s property tax levy unrealistically low. He should have raised taxes a little bit every year to keep pace with rising costs.
Union contracts
After his 2007 re-election campaign got the cold shoulder from all but one labor union, Daley cozied up to organized labor in a way that guaranteed labor peace through the 2016 Olympics. The 10-year contract with members of the building trades locked in the prevailing wage paid to their counterparts in private industry
The cost of corruption
It’s not easy to calculate the cost of the Hired Truck, city hiring, minority contracting, Building and Zoning bribery, police corruption and garbage collection slacker scandals. But rest assured Chicagoans pay a heavy price.
Inspector General David Hoffman has pegged the annual cost of refuse collection waste alone at $20 million.
Discuss.
* Related…
* City Budget to include tax hikes, service cuts
* Union Opposes Daley’s Forced Days Off
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 9:39 am
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Hired Truck, city hiring, minority contracting, Building and Zoning bribery, police corruption and garbage collection slacker scandals,
future indictments = NO OLYMPICS!
Comment by Sorry Richie Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 9:45 am
The days off around the holidays are a good idea. Those are goof-off days anyway in the public and private sectors. They should pick up garbage Thanksgiving weekend, though.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 10:01 am
Daley’s plan to shut down government for a few days seems like a good idea.
I don’t understand Chicago’s union leadership. They seem more concerned about their guys losing 5 days pay than they are about hundreds being laid off. And the laborer business managers arguments are either stupid or purposefully misleading. I’m sure the City would wave the day before/day after requirement if the department is closed that day and saying the alleys will stink to high heaven is ridiculous. Garbage pickup is broken down into 1 day per week so only 1/5th of the people get their trash hauled away the day after Thanksgiving anyway. 4/5th of the alleys haven’t stunk all these years and besides, it’s not mid August, it’s like putting your garbage in a refrigerator.
The unions need to stand up to the Mayor, but it hurts their case if they are just dumb.
Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 10:29 am
Fran is incorrect. Daley is raising taxes every year. Your tax rate may not change but because of increases in valuation the dollars in coffers increase quite a bit.
That is the secret tax increase.
If people don’t park downtown they must ride the CTA/RTA which loses money every passenger and probably does not have enough equipment. There is a tax rate coming there.
Otherwise that is just a local indirect income tax on residents and non residents alike, plus a tax on business.
Just cut out the raises and let the employees continue to take bribes — lol
Comment by Truthful James Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 10:35 am
All city employees (other than union members) were already required to take 2 furlough days this year. Now they have to take a full week (5 days) while the union folks only take 3. They can cry all they want - they won’t get a lot of support from all the other city employees.
Comment by babs Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 11:00 am
Actually, city employees had to take either 2 or 3 days now it’s 5 or 6. So union members have it easy.
Comment by babs Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 11:00 am
“Fran is incorrect. Daley is raising taxes every year. Your tax rate may not change but because of increases in valuation the dollars in coffers increase quite a bit…That is the secret tax increase.”
No, Truthful, Fran is correct. If the levy doesn’t change, and the assessed valuation increases, then the tax rate drops. An increase in valuation does nothing to change the levy, and does not represent a “secret tax.”
Comment by Gene Parmesan Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 11:38 am
A number of years ago the Feds tried to calculate the Corruption Tax for purposes of prosecution, but could not nail down a number that would stand up as evidence in court.
The most common estimates are that between $200 million and $300 million of taxpayer money goes out the back door EVERY YEAR in graft, non-competitive sweetheart contract deals, overstaffing of middle management and other jobs with political hacks, and virtual gifts of real estate to cronies. If you think the hackery is now over after the Sorich case, let me give you Noel Brennan’s phone number.
That number is without CTA, though the Kreusi-sponsored Reign of Financial Terror appears to be over.
That number is before we factor in crony-benefit TIFs.
That number is treating the City union deals as financially competitive, which is questionable.
That number is before we even begin to talk about the financial cesspool known as Cook County government.
“World Class City”, my a**! Not as long as we citizens mindlessly continue to put up with this outright robbery. We COULD have a World Class City if that money ever went to the public good, as opposed “Eight Ball in the Crony Pocket”.
Imagine how wonderful this town could become if all that money was spent on new schools, business initives and incentives, job programs, parks, environmental programs . . .
Comment by Bubs Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 11:46 am
I think the king should hire some more PR people to paper over this problem. Then raise taxes and fees to pay them.
Comment by The Mad Hatter Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 12:04 pm
How’s that Olympic bid looking Mr. Mayor?
Can we just end that delusion now?
Comment by GOP'er Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 1:28 pm
Nothing is new except that we are all being effected by the financial crisis. It’s not like Daley went and spent a bunch of money this year or has a huge increase planned for next year. it’s just the dollar isn’t what it used to be. So complain all you want about the cronyism and political hiring, but that has nothing to do with the current fiscal situation.
Comment by nothing new Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 6:57 pm
It isn’t just Chicago. Every local government in this state is screwed for revenue because of an antiquated tax system and a complete lack of political will in Springfield to do anything about it. You have a state sales tax system that is literally structured to bring in less money year after year due to the way it nails goods and doesn’t touch services; you have a flat income tax with a personal exemption that has never been linked to inflation and are therefore taxing people who don’t have any money; you have schools and municipalities that are grossly overdependent on the property tax.
No doubt Chicago administratively has gone steeply downhill in the past decade, but before we cast too many stones Daley’s way we ought to be looking at what suburbs, school districts and especially Downstate cities are coping with.
Comment by Angry Chicagoan Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 7:38 pm
The City that Works, soon to be under the national spotlight for years and years.
Bubs, you forgot the unfunded pension liability, which is larger than that of most states.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Oct 15, 08 @ 10:52 pm