The Cook County Board overwhelmingly accepted a virtually $6.2 billion price range Thursday, over the objections of 1 holdout commissioner who warned that “rate of growth and spending is not sustainable for the long term fiscal health” of the county.
The price range was balanced with no layoffs or tax will increase and even added some workers engaged on taxpayer appeals of property assessments and expunging previous hashish convictions. But the spending blueprint did minimize 638 vacant well being care positions, regardless of an emergency nurse’s warning that these cuts “hurt my patients.”
Despite the ripples of dissent, the board voted 15-1, with one absence, to approve its fiscal plan for subsequent yr. Preckwinkle mentioned it was the results of years of effort whereas she’s been on the helm of the county.
“This budget builds on years of hard work, difficult decisions, hard votes and fiscally responsible steps we’ve taken in Cook County,” Preckwinkle mentioned.
“Doing what’s right and responsible isn’t always easy.”
There have been 15 amendments to the price range Preckwinkle unveiled final month, accounting for roughly a further $22 million in spending.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. File Photo.Colin Boyle/Sun-Times
Some of these amendments have been technical, however some put a part of the county’s projected $9 million tax-increment-financing surplus towards measures such because the county’s initiative to translate subsequent yr’s election ballots into two further languages, Tagalog and Korean.
One of the opposite 15 amendments will take cash from a county particular goal fund to create a program that would offer as much as two faculties with photo voltaic paneled roofs. Participating faculties “would build a STEM program around the solar paneled roofs to encourage more children to join engineering, environmental sciences, and other STEM programs. The solar panels will provide an educational component by allowing students to track the energy generated and saved as a result of the solar panels.”
Another creates a pilot program to work with survivors of home and sexual assault “to provide more victim-centered and trauma-informed care,” in response to an outline of this system.
Commissioner Sean Morrison was the only real ‘no’ vote on the price range. He mentioned the county hadn’t accomplished sufficient to deal with its unfunded pension liabilities and different legacy money owed. He additionally voiced issues in regards to the well being system’s monetary situation.
“This rate of growth and spending is not sustainable for the long term fiscal health of our county, and it is not fair to cook county taxpayers — we can do better and we should strive to do better,” Morrison mentioned.
Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison at County Board assembly in 2017. File Photo. Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times
“Our county has seen an exodus of residents leaving more than any other county in the U.S. We should stop and think about that for a moment and ask ‘are we doing our very best to stem that tide and reverse the negative impact of the trend?’ I don’t believe the growth and spending of the 2020 budget will help address this serious issue.”
Preckwinkle discovered Morrison’s feedback “ironic” as a result of he “didn’t support our efforts to stabilize our pension system in the first place.”
Morrison didn’t know what Preckwinkle was refering to, saying “that’s a preposterous statement.”
Riding excessive from a profitable legislative session in Springfield, Preckwinkle’s June preliminary price range included income from the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, the Illinois Gaming Act, the Sports Wagering Act and the Online Sales Tax. But delays in rolling out a few of these taxes prompted the county to decrease its anticipated revenues.
The 2020 price range was additionally balanced by slicing 638 vacant positions throughout the well being fund. Those positions included nurses…