Daley to Add $1.5 Million to City Budget

By Kevin Robinson in News on Dec 1, 2009 4:20PM

Anticipating the settlement of a lawsuit over a sliding 911 surcharge on the telephone bills for high-capacity lines used by large businesses, Mayor Daley proposed adding $1.5 million to the city's budget on Monday.

Those funds will be split up several ways, with $200,000 used to pay psychiatrists as a way to address city mental health service cuts, and $500,000 to fund substance abuse treatment. Another $200,000 will be used to fund city tourism efforts. The largest chunk of funds - $600,000 - will go to finance neighborhood chambers of commerce to fund economic development projects in the city.

The mayor's proposed changes to the budget were approved by the City Council Budget Committee. Wednesday, the city council will vote Wednesday on the mayor's $6 billion-plus budget for 2010 (guess how they're gonna vote?).