Committee on Budget and Government Operations meeting, October 21, 2024
- When: Mon, Oct 21, 2024, 11:45 AM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Revised
- Committee: Committee on Budget and Government Operations
- Video: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1018441521
- Transcript: full text (4,483 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 heard three public commenters, then considered a directly introduced amendment to the 2024 annual appropriation ordinance within Fund 925 adding about $20.6 million in state and federal grant funds for the Department of Family and Support Services to reimburse the corporate fund for new arrivals mission expenses. Members asked about total spending and reimbursements to date, whether the reimbursements were already counted in the projected deficit, how cost shares are negotiated, and contingency plans if state or federal support ends, as well as the shift to a single shelter system. The amendment passed on a voice vote. The committee also approved remote participation for one member and passed transfer of funds ordinances for several ward and committee accounts, with substitutes for four of them.
Topics: 2024 appropriation amendment, new arrivals funding, grant reimbursements, one shelter system, homelessness, ward and committee fund transfers
Agenda items discussed
- 23:18 Public comment: discussed
- 34:41 Amendment to the 2024 annual appropriation ordinance within Fund 925 for Department of Family and Support Services new arrivals grants: passed
- 51:21 Motion to allow remote participation under Rule 59: passed
- 51:46 Transfer of funds ordinances for the 1st, 3rd, 13th and 41st Wards, the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, and the Committee on Health and Human Relations: passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Nicole T. Lee (alderperson): Asked for the total spent on the new arrivals mission and how much has been reimbursed to date. (37:24); Confirmed the $11 million and $9.6 million would offset the $119.4 million spent from the corporate fund and requested the reimbursement total. (38:06)
- Raymond A. Lopez (alderperson): Asked why the item came as a direct introduction rather than through the prior meeting. (38:26); Asked how many anticipated reimbursements are assumed in the 2024 deficit projection. (39:30); Requested information on pending reimbursement applications and whether they are already counted in the deficit, saying members should not be making decisions based on undisclosed assumptions. (40:02)
- Brendan Reilly (alderperson): Asked whether there is a formula for how state and federal governments decide the share of costs they reimburse. (41:55); Asked whether the city has received guidance on state or federal support for 2025. (44:33); Asked whether a contingency plan is being developed in case federal and state support ends after the election. (45:20)
- Samantha Nugent (alderperson): Said she would support the item but has concerns about the one shelter program. (49:46); Said a homeless encampment in Gompers Park keeps growing and the city has told her it cannot help, and asked for follow-up from city departments. (50:08)
Exchanges between members
- 40:02 Lopez added to the request made by his colleague from the 11th Ward for year-to-date reimbursement totals.
- 47:09 Lopez followed up on Reilly's questions about migrant funding next year.