Committee on Budget and Government Operations meeting, November 20, 2024

• When: Wed, Nov 20, 2024, 10:00 AM (Chicago time)
• Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
• Status: Scheduled & Published
• Committee: Committee on Budget and Government Operations
• Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8925576/video/1031310566
• Transcript: full text (55,793 words, automatic captions)

Meeting notes

AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.

The Committee on Budget and Government Operations held its 2025 budget hearing for the Department of Streets and Sanitation, opening with public comment that focused mostly on rat poison harming owls and other wildlife and on calls for a rat contraceptive pilot. The Council Office of Financial Analysis director reported a proposed 2025 department budget of $352.9 million with 37 fewer budgeted positions, and Commissioner Cole Stallard presented the department's 2024 work and 2025 plans, including five additional rodent control crews. Alderpersons asked about special event cost recovery, vacancies, the tree-trimming grid system, vacant lot weed cutting and enforcement, abandoned vehicles and curbstoning, recycling costs, the garbage fee, fleet condition, littering, and alternatives to rodenticide. Many members praised the department's service. The hearing was for review and discussion only; no vote was taken, and the department was excused subject to recall.

Topics: FY2025 budget, Streets and Sanitation, rodent control, tree trimming grid, vacant lot weed cutting, special event costs, recycling, garbage fee, abandoned vehicles, fleet and equipment

Agenda items discussed

• 7:27 Public comment: discussed
• 28:38 FY2025 budget hearing: Department of Streets and Sanitation: discussed

Alderpersons who spoke

• Jason C. Ervin (chair): Asked the department to provide its costs for supporting events outside normal operations, coded by event, including ticketed private events. (49:04); Said curbstoning, with unplated cars for sale parked on streets, needs to be addressed and later asked the Legislative Reference Bureau to draft an ordinance change on vehicles for sale. (5:06:01); Asked about the natural number of one-person garbage trucks and whether rodent control crews could operate as one-person crews. (6:19:07)
• Scott Waguespack (alderperson): Asked how damaged garbage carts are removed and replaced and what happens to carts left behind. (40:32); Asked how many Sheriff's work alternative program (SWAP) workers the department receives and whether more SWAP teams are coming. (43:04); Asked for the annual overtime and equipment cost of supporting special events, saying taxpayers are covering costs that event planners should share. (45:11)
• Brendan Reilly (alderperson): Said the department properly records special event manpower and that other departments need to do a better job assessing real costs for for-profit events. (51:09); Asked how many of the department's 91 vacancies have been unfilled for more than nine months. (52:26); Asked whether the department benefited from federal ARPA funding and how much remains unspent. (54:02)
• Pat Dowell (alderperson): Asked about plans for roughly $3 million in unspent urban forestry grant funds being carried over to 2025. (1:00:14); Requested a map and schedule of the tree-trimming grid for her ward. (1:01:07); Asked that weed-cutting contractors clear around poles as part of their contracts. (1:01:53)
• Chris Taliaferro (alderperson): Asked whether the quality of life cleaning program has its own budget line and whether staffing will grow in 2025. (1:08:36); Asked how Take Back the Block locations are chosen and what the program costs the department. (1:11:29)
• Gilbert Villegas (alderperson): Asked what the city plans to do about rodents, citing the Boston contraceptive pilot raised in public comment. (1:12:59); Asked the annual spending on rodent control and said he would share a resident's pilot information with the department. (1:16:49)
• Jeanette B. Taylor (alderperson): Asked why the SAFER cleaning program is not year-round and what a winter cleaning plan would cost. (1:17:33); Asked about ward-based versus grid-based service for garbage and trees, noting residents' tree complaints. (1:20:33); Raised inconsistent grass-cutting contractors and tickets on vacant lots being thrown out in court. (1:23:58)
• Michael D. Rodriguez (alderperson): Said the tree-trimming grid system greatly increased trees trimmed per year and should be applied to other services. (1:28:33); Asked how the city can proactively replace broken garbage carts to reduce rodents. (1:31:38); Asked what field sanitation investigators do and whether bilingual skills are required, citing language equity. (1:34:32)
• Felix Cardona Jr. (alderperson): Asked why it is hard to get railroads to clean weeds and debris on their property and whether they can be fined. (1:40:01); Asked how rodent abatement has been restructured after the prior leader retired. (1:43:44); Said replacing broken garbage carts and educating residents would help curb rodents. (1:45:43)
• Matthew J. O'Shea (alderperson): Offered to meet with Alderman Felix Cardona Jr. and department staff on railroad cleanup, noting the city has no authority over federal railroads. (1:43:17); Asked whether salt spreaders, plows and fleet are ready for snow season and about the age of heavy equipment. (2:52:11); Asked what research shows about garbage fees in other cities and suburbs. (2:54:39)
• Nicole T. Lee (alderperson): Supported the grid tree-trimming system while flagging calls about missed trees and praising quick emergency trims. (1:48:01); Asked who is authorized to issue citations for not picking up dog waste and requested per-ward data. (1:49:47); Asked whether the city is considering covered street receptacles, saying removing baskets entirely is not an option in areas like Chinatown. (1:52:49)
• Maria E. Hadden (alderperson): Thanked the department for extending street sweeping past Thanksgiving in response to later leaf fall. (1:59:10); Asked to work with the department after the budget on possible ordinance changes, such as seasonal parking rules, to match current conditions. (1:59:57)
• Julia M. Ramirez (alderperson): Asked about annual goals for tree-trimming zones and how zones are chosen. (2:03:21); Asked whether there is a process to address complaints about trims being too high or incomplete. (2:06:15); Asked about electric garbage trucks and how many trucks are typically out of service. (2:07:07)
• Jessica L. Fuentes (alderperson): Echoed concerns about railroad property, describing tall weeds and garbage on rail lines in her ward, and offered to press Congress. (2:15:15); Asked how much it costs to repair leaking garbage trucks. (2:15:52); Asked what citywide marketing the department plans to prevent littering. (2:18:04)
• Bennett R. Lawson (alderperson): Asked whether rodent baiting crews also inspect garbage carts. (2:23:05); Asked the city's total recycling cost, noting the low diversion rate. (2:23:48); Said private hauler accountability for larger buildings is important. (2:29:00)
• Walter R. Burnett (alderperson): Suggested selling advertising on street sweepers and trucks to raise revenue. (2:34:09); Asked for the rodent control deputy's contact, citing rats near construction in his ward. (2:34:30)
• Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (alderperson): Said the grid system is a model for more efficient and equitable services. (2:36:44); Described residents cutting branches in parks for safety and rat problems, and said the city can do better on rodents. (2:37:03); Asked whether the sidewalk snow-clearing pilot will move forward and what it would cost, citing older adults and people with disabilities. (2:40:03)
• Monique L. Scott (alderperson): Said wards with thousands of vacant lots need more attention for lot cutting in the summer. (2:44:24); Asked for dedicated summer crews for her ward and the 16th and 20th wards and for contractors to hire locally. (2:46:33); Asked whether the Law Department has sped up processing of tickets. (2:48:53)
• William Conway (alderperson): Asked how to answer residents asking why the city does not use rat birth control. (3:00:29); Said removal of trash cans on tourist corridors increased litter and asked the department to consider replacing some. (3:02:23); Asked the commissioner to respond to a report that alderpersons' basic service requests required mayor's office approval. (3:02:56)
• David H. Moore (alderperson): Credited the city's chief operating officer for coordinating departments during the DNC and on infrastructure. (3:13:05); Asked for faster response on abandoned homes and for weed cutters to clear around poles and hydrants. (3:15:00); Said garbage crews should report overgrown alleys. (3:17:08)
• Gregory I. Mitchell (alderperson): Proposed designating abandoned properties citywide and creating a separate plan because repeated tickets on them are not paid. (4:26:09); Asked for data on ticket outcomes and repeat tickets on properties over five to ten years. (4:29:34); Said that while trees have benefits, some cause sewer and infrastructure problems for homeowners. (4:30:33)
• Marty Quinn (alderperson): Asked whether the department is fully staffed and supplied with salt for snow season. (4:46:06); Asked how many new garbage trucks are added each year and whether more are needed to make up for the COVID years. (4:47:14); Asked whether there are enough laborers and about a laborer pool. (4:49:52)
• Andre Vasquez Jr. (alderperson): Requested data on private hauler licenses, units served and costs, as well as rat abatement pilots and quality of life visits by ward. (4:54:03); Asked about the tree inventory portal and how trimming progress is communicated to ward offices. (4:55:12); Asked about viaduct cleaning rotation and who is responsible for pigeon deterrents. (4:58:20)
• Jeylú B. Gutiérrez (alderperson): Thanked the department and her ward superintendent for service in the 14th Ward. (5:06:52)
• Ruth Cruz (alderperson): Said the tree-trimming grid can leave residents waiting two to three years and that she disagrees with the current approach. (5:08:10); Supported changing the ordinance so cars being sold on streets can be towed. (5:10:50)
• Anthony Beale (alderperson): Asked the department's total positions, vacancies and how long positions have been open. (5:13:07); Asked whether the department made the 3% cut requested by the administration. (5:14:29); Asked where the department would cut if asked to trim another 7%, such as unfilled positions. (5:15:51)
• Angela Clay (alderperson): Asked who is responsible for cleaning protected bike lanes and asked to schedule them for street cleaning. (5:20:31); Asked how the department works with the Park District on homeless encampments. (5:22:31); Said the city has one power washer for all wards and advocated for more. (5:24:30)
• Michelle A. Harris (alderperson): Praised the department and said Streets and Sanitation should not be cut in the budget. (5:28:02)
• Derrick G. Curtis (alderperson): Asked whether ward superintendents could write other citations, such as for cars parked on grass. (5:29:14); Asked what can be done about liquid leaking from garbage trucks in alleys. (5:33:27); Said Streets and Sanitation services must be protected. (5:35:17)
• Stephanie D. Coleman (alderperson): Said south side wards with many lots need more weed-cutting firms. (5:36:58); Said she does not want new trees planted in the 16th Ward. (5:37:44); Said SBC Waste is not properly servicing small businesses and asked that the firm be held accountable. (5:38:00)
• James M. Gardiner (alderperson): Praised department workers he saw cleaning late at night after the DNC. (5:48:54); Asked how the council could help the department get more forestry manpower. (5:50:49)
• Ronnie L. Mosley (alderperson): Asked whether 311 could accept resident reports and video of people littering or fly dumping. (5:54:07); Asked what can be done about overgrown abandoned properties and resulting wildlife. (5:57:52); Echoed calls to shorten the process for removing abandoned cars. (6:01:02)
• Timothy R. Knudsen (alderperson): Said his office looked into funding a rodent contraceptive pilot, could not use menu funds, and wants to work with the department on alternatives to protect owls. (6:05:14)
• Byron Sigcho-López (alderperson): Asked where the department sees potential overtime savings, including for festivals. (6:06:44); Said companies should reimburse the city for special event work so services are not constrained. (6:10:53); Asked whether enforcement can be more equitable for seniors and low-income residents compared with repeat corporate offenders. (6:11:34)

Exchanges between members

• 49:04 The chair followed up on Alderman Scott Waguespack question about special event costs.
• 51:09 Alderman Brendan Reilly said he agreed with Alderman Scott Waguespack questions on recouping special event costs.
• 1:26:59 Alderman Jeanette B. Taylor said Chairman Pat Dowell agreed with her concerns about state expressway cleaning.
• 1:43:17 Alderman Matthew J. O'Shea offered to meet with Alderman Felix Cardona Jr. offline about railroad contacts.
• 1:59:10 Alderman Maria E. Hadden built on Alderman Michael D. Rodriguez comments about climate and street sweeping.
• 2:11:47 Alderman Julia M. Ramirez referred back to Alderman Nicole T. Lee question on covered street receptacles.
• 2:15:15 Alderman Jessica L. Fuentes echoed Alderman Felix Cardona Jr. point on railroad accountability.
• 2:36:44 Alderman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth echoed Alderman Michael D. Rodriguez view of the grid system as a model.
• 2:44:24 Alderman Monique L. Scott referred to Alderman Jeanette B. Taylor point that their wards share vacant lot problems.
• 3:02:09 Alderman William Conway referenced Alderman Nicole T. Lee comments on trash can removal.
• 3:02:09 Alderman William Conway referenced Alderman Julia M. Ramirez comments on trash can removal.
• 4:29:34 Alderman Gregory I. Mitchell referenced an earlier request from Alderman Jeanette B. Taylor or Dowell for violation data.
• 4:30:25 Alderman Gregory I. Mitchell responded to Alderman Michael D. Rodriguez remarks on tree benefits by noting problems trees cause homeowners.
• 5:03:10 Alderman Andre Vasquez Jr. referenced Alderman William Conway question about the service request review process.
• 5:10:50 Alderman Ruth Cruz echoed Alderman Andre Vasquez Jr. on towing cars being sold on the street.
• 5:12:08 The chair suggested speaking with Alderman Marty Quinn about an approach to tree trimming.
• 5:28:56 Alderman Derrick G. Curtis echoed Alderman Michelle A. Harris praise of the department.
• 5:33:36 Alderman Derrick G. Curtis referenced Alderman Angela Clay concern about garbage trucks.
• 5:58:40 Alderman Ronnie L. Mosley echoed Alderman Pat Dowell comments about cars on vacant lots.
• 6:14:05 The chair asked Alderman David H. Moore whether the hauler he raised was the same company Alderman Stephanie D. Coleman mentioned.

Documents

• Agenda
• Other
• Agenda