Mayor Daley City of Chicago Speech 2009, Page 4
< Continued from page 3
We will always stand against those who want more guns to be available across our nation. We'll continue our vigilance in Springfield and Washington, D.C. to enact reasonable gun legislation, including reenacting our nation's ban on assault weapons.
And, we will continue to fight legal challenges to our city's ban on handguns. So far, attacks from those who want to throw it out have failed and the case may end up in our nation's Supreme Court.
Taken together, we pray all these strategies work to prevent violence in Chicago.
If they don't, we'll implement new ones. We're always open to better ways we can protect our city and our children.
We also need your thoughts on our city's budget, which has been dramatically impacted by the recession.
It hasn't been easy but without our ongoing efforts to cut spending and improve management, things would be far worse for us today.
Families across the city are already bearing the responsibility of a tough economy, making difficult choices and sacrifices every day. They're tightening their belts to get by and weather this storm.
We must continue to do so as well. Tough choices still lie ahead.
That's because even with all the steps we've taken, Chicago, like every major city, foresees significant budget shortfalls ahead as a direct result of the recession.
That’s why we will continue to demand more from every employee, cutting where we must.
Remember, there are 6,000 fewer non-sworn city employees today than when I took office.
During 2008 we cut spending by over $190 million, and since I've been Mayor we’ve cut more than $2.5 billion in spending.
As a result of these positive steps and because we used some of the reserve funds available to us through our asset leases, last year we were able to balance our city budget without raising property taxes.
Since then, the nation's recession has worsened and our monthly revenues continue to drop. We expect this year's revenue shortfall to be between $250 and $300 million, while the projected budget shortfalls for the next several years will be just as challenging, reaching into the hundreds of millions.
Already this year we've implemented $47 million in spending reductions but we must cut more to close the deficit.
We need your advice about our next steps and that chance will come during our upcoming budget hearings.
Remember: at the very time that we have been able to avoid making major layoffs, increasing property taxes and making major service cuts so far, other cities have already done that.
We all know that unless we reduce the cost of personnel we can't balance this year's budget. Personnel costs comprise over 80% of our operating expenses.
That's why it was so important to require the City's top employees, starting with me, my staff and our Commissioners to take 15 unpaid days this year. That means I and about 3,700 non-union employees will take a pay cut of more than 11% for the remainder of the year.
I would never ask any employee to sacrifice something I wasn't willing to give up first.
I believe it's far better for employees to make salary concessions than it is for them to have no job at all.
As you know, our plan we've also worked to get the city's union partners representing over 90% of Chicago's total employees to agree to cost reductions in their contracts.
Starting in early February of this year, we began to meet with them to reach an agreement. Many meetings and conversations have been held.
As of this morning, 25 out of 27 unions have agreed to be part of the solution and reduce their costs. I want to thank them and their members for understanding our financial hardship and working together with us to help protect Chicago's taxpayers.
I especially want to thank Dennis Gannon and Tom Villanova for their leadership and commitment to making this happen.
Unfortunately, the leaders of two unions would not reach an agreement, so we are forced to lay off some of their members today, something I did not want to do and that could have been avoided. I feel for them and their families.
Because we must maintain our safety, our plan did not include furloughing or laying off either our sworn police or fire officers.
But we continue our contract negotiations with them and we are asking them – just as we’ve asked all other employees – to agree to efforts that will reduce the City’s costs.
Some may ask why we don't use all of the reserve funds from the asset leases to balance this year's budget instead of asking employees to give up more.
I wish we could, but it would be irresponsible to use all of these funds at one time. We have a four-year financial plan.
Because we foresee the impact of the recession continuing for the next several years, along with continued weak revenues, the responsible approach is to preserve these funds so we can use them now and over the next several years -- to help balance the city's budget. And, that's what we plan to do.
Like everyone, I'm concerned about rising taxes across Illinois.
People are rightly angry at what they perceive to be top executives -- in government and business -- benefitting at the very time they are suffering. We must show the taxpayers of Chicago that during these tough times we put their interests first.
Even today, it was reported that a major Wall Street firm that benefited from bailout funds is planning to give its employees “fat pay packages,” an increase of nearly 50 percent over last year.
And you wonder why people are so angry.
Today, I want to challenge the leadership in each of our sister agencies -- the Chicago Public Schools, Chicago City Colleges, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago Park District -- to do what we've already done at the City and ask their top level executives to take furlough days or make some other financial sacrifice.
Further, I've instructed my staff and sister agencies to do all they can to avoid any tax or fee increases this year.
I'm especially concerned that property tax relief -- our circuit breaker plan -- for our hard hit homeowners and renters has not yet been enacted in Springfield.
We will always stand against those who want more guns to be available across our nation. We'll continue our vigilance in Springfield and Washington, D.C. to enact reasonable gun legislation, including reenacting our nation's ban on assault weapons.
And, we will continue to fight legal challenges to our city's ban on handguns. So far, attacks from those who want to throw it out have failed and the case may end up in our nation's Supreme Court.
Taken together, we pray all these strategies work to prevent violence in Chicago.
If they don't, we'll implement new ones. We're always open to better ways we can protect our city and our children.
We also need your thoughts on our city's budget, which has been dramatically impacted by the recession.
It hasn't been easy but without our ongoing efforts to cut spending and improve management, things would be far worse for us today.
Families across the city are already bearing the responsibility of a tough economy, making difficult choices and sacrifices every day. They're tightening their belts to get by and weather this storm.
We must continue to do so as well. Tough choices still lie ahead.
That's because even with all the steps we've taken, Chicago, like every major city, foresees significant budget shortfalls ahead as a direct result of the recession.
That’s why we will continue to demand more from every employee, cutting where we must.
Remember, there are 6,000 fewer non-sworn city employees today than when I took office.
During 2008 we cut spending by over $190 million, and since I've been Mayor we’ve cut more than $2.5 billion in spending.
As a result of these positive steps and because we used some of the reserve funds available to us through our asset leases, last year we were able to balance our city budget without raising property taxes.
Since then, the nation's recession has worsened and our monthly revenues continue to drop. We expect this year's revenue shortfall to be between $250 and $300 million, while the projected budget shortfalls for the next several years will be just as challenging, reaching into the hundreds of millions.
Already this year we've implemented $47 million in spending reductions but we must cut more to close the deficit.
We need your advice about our next steps and that chance will come during our upcoming budget hearings.
Remember: at the very time that we have been able to avoid making major layoffs, increasing property taxes and making major service cuts so far, other cities have already done that.
We all know that unless we reduce the cost of personnel we can't balance this year's budget. Personnel costs comprise over 80% of our operating expenses.
That's why it was so important to require the City's top employees, starting with me, my staff and our Commissioners to take 15 unpaid days this year. That means I and about 3,700 non-union employees will take a pay cut of more than 11% for the remainder of the year.
I would never ask any employee to sacrifice something I wasn't willing to give up first.
I believe it's far better for employees to make salary concessions than it is for them to have no job at all.
As you know, our plan we've also worked to get the city's union partners representing over 90% of Chicago's total employees to agree to cost reductions in their contracts.
Starting in early February of this year, we began to meet with them to reach an agreement. Many meetings and conversations have been held.
As of this morning, 25 out of 27 unions have agreed to be part of the solution and reduce their costs. I want to thank them and their members for understanding our financial hardship and working together with us to help protect Chicago's taxpayers.
I especially want to thank Dennis Gannon and Tom Villanova for their leadership and commitment to making this happen.
Unfortunately, the leaders of two unions would not reach an agreement, so we are forced to lay off some of their members today, something I did not want to do and that could have been avoided. I feel for them and their families.
Because we must maintain our safety, our plan did not include furloughing or laying off either our sworn police or fire officers.
But we continue our contract negotiations with them and we are asking them – just as we’ve asked all other employees – to agree to efforts that will reduce the City’s costs.
Some may ask why we don't use all of the reserve funds from the asset leases to balance this year's budget instead of asking employees to give up more.
I wish we could, but it would be irresponsible to use all of these funds at one time. We have a four-year financial plan.
Because we foresee the impact of the recession continuing for the next several years, along with continued weak revenues, the responsible approach is to preserve these funds so we can use them now and over the next several years -- to help balance the city's budget. And, that's what we plan to do.
Like everyone, I'm concerned about rising taxes across Illinois.
People are rightly angry at what they perceive to be top executives -- in government and business -- benefitting at the very time they are suffering. We must show the taxpayers of Chicago that during these tough times we put their interests first.
Even today, it was reported that a major Wall Street firm that benefited from bailout funds is planning to give its employees “fat pay packages,” an increase of nearly 50 percent over last year.
And you wonder why people are so angry.
Today, I want to challenge the leadership in each of our sister agencies -- the Chicago Public Schools, Chicago City Colleges, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Housing Authority and the Chicago Park District -- to do what we've already done at the City and ask their top level executives to take furlough days or make some other financial sacrifice.
Further, I've instructed my staff and sister agencies to do all they can to avoid any tax or fee increases this year.
I'm especially concerned that property tax relief -- our circuit breaker plan -- for our hard hit homeowners and renters has not yet been enacted in Springfield.
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