The Chicago Park District recently released its $410.9 million spending plan for FY2013. The District had identified a $16.0 million budget gap, which it proposes to close with district-wide shut-down days, position eliminations, refinancing debt and some revenue enhancements. In addition, the District plans to use approximately $10.7 million in General Fund fund balance and prior year resources…
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s FY2013 proposed $190.3 million budget for its discipline in identifying non-tax revenue sources to hold the property tax levy flat for the fourth year in a row while maintaining substantial reserves. While the District’s overall budget demonstrates continued fiscal discipline, the Civic Federation is concerned about…
In June 2012 the Forest Preserve District of Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the issuance of $110 million in bonds to finance capital improvement projects and to refinance existing debt. This major financing decision was made without the release of an updated capital plan and before offering the District’s operating budget for FY2013. The 2012-2016 Capital Improvement Plan was…
The purpose of this report is to provide a review of the DuPage County Proposed FY2013 Financial Plan and examination of the County’s financial condition. The report reviews key findings of the $431.8 million budget plan and compares proposed FY2013 figures to FY2012 adopted and current budget figures. Five-year trend analyses for liabilities, including pensions, debt and capital funding, are…
Yesterday, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin presented the DuPage County Proposed FY2013 Financial Plan to the County Board. DuPage County’s current fiscal year ends on November 30, 2012; the new 2013 fiscal year begins on December 1, 2012. Budget Overview DuPage County proposes a FY2013 budget of $431.8 million. The budget is a 1.8%, or $8.1 million, decrease from the FY2012 current budget…
Earlier this year, the Civic Federation published a blog describing the recent changes to the standards for how governments report fund balance. Fund balance is a term commonly used to describe the net assets of the governmental funds and serves as a measure of financial resources.[1] Fund balance is the difference between the assets and liabilities in the governmental funds.[2] Fund balance is…
UPDATE: On Thursday, August 16, 2012, Governor Quinn signed into law the changes to the Chicago Park District Pension Fund fiscal year as Public Act 097-0894. On May 31, 2012, the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 3629, which amends the Chicago Park District’s Pension Code so that the fiscal year of the pension fund will match the Park District’s fiscal year. Beginning in 2013, the…
The Civic Federation announced its support for the City Colleges of Chicago FY2013 tentative budget on July 12, testifying at a public hearing and releasing its analysis of the proposed $659.5 million budget. The budget demonstrates continued fiscal discipline and attention to financial best practices as City Colleges enters the third phase of its multi-year Reinvention effort. The FY2013…
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges FY2013 budget totaling $659.5 million because it demonstrates continued fiscal discipline and attention to financial best practices. Unrestricted operating funds, the portion of the budget over which the District exercises maximum control, will decrease by 0.8%, or $2.4 million dollars from the previous year. The property tax levy will remain flat…
UPDATE: On Friday, August 3, 2012, Governor Quinn signed into law the pension reforms for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund as Public Act 097-0894. This blog post provides background information on the funding status of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund and a description of significant reforms to the funding of the pension plan that were…
