Emanuel's 2014 Budget Passes With Minimal Dissent

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 26, 2013 7:10PM

Mayor Emanuel’s $7 billion 2014 City budget was approved by City Council Tuesday morning.

Emanuel’s budget relies on a slew of hikes in fees, fines and smaller taxes with an estimated $60 million in red-light camera fines and $70 million in speeding camera revenue. A 50 cent increase in the city’s cigarette tax will boost the combined state and local tax on cigarettes sold in Chicago to $7.17 cents a pack—the highest in the nation.

Another aspect of the budget is an estimated $75 million being earmarked in police overtime to fight violent crime in “hot spot” neighborhoods while compensating for a manpower shortage in the Chicago Police Department. City Council Budget Committee Chairman Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) kicked off the “debate” over the budget by noting Emanuel kept his word and toed the line on hikes to property, gas and sales taxes.

“I don’t agree with every line myself. There are things I object to as well,” Austin said. But, she quickly added, “I dare any of you to vote against it.”

Congratulate yourselves if you live in the wards of Aldermen Bob Fioretti (2nd), Ricardo Munoz (22nd), Scott Waguespack (32nd), Nick Sposato (36th) and John Arena (45th); they were the five aldermen to vote “no.”

Pension reform was mentioned during the debate by 38th Ward Ald. Tim Cullerton, who warned the city is only a year away from the $600 million balloon payment to the city’s underfunded police and firefighters pensions and said “we are going to be in a much worse situation than we are today” without pension reform.

Emanuel is also planning to refinance the city’s debt, a move that would add at least $150 million to the city’s existing debt load and pawn the payment off on future generations. Fioretti cited this as one of the reasons for his “nay” vote but he was particularly incensed Emanuel spiked his plan to hire more police officers for one-third the cost of the overtime plan.

“While hiring more police officers won’t solve the problem of street violence in and of itself, it is clear” that Chicago doesn’t have enough police officers, Fioretti said. “I cannot in good conscience support a budget that fails to address our fundamental needs.”