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February 29, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For
more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook
County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or by email at
iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com.
County Board President Announces Budget Agreement
Last-minute
accord averts County shutdown, provides revenue over long term to
address structural deficit and need for new revenue to enhance
operations in health, other vital services.
CHICAGO,
IL - Cook County Board President Todd Stroger publicly announced a
budget agreement late Friday night that prevented a possible government
shut-down and will increase the County’s revenue stream over the
long term to heal a chronic structural deficit.
President Stroger first proposed a budget in October 2007 that would
have raised the County’s portion of the sales tax by two pennies,
in the wake of projected budget shortfalls that are expected to grow
significantly in the next decade -- and at the same time the County's
property tax levy has remained flat for a decade as costs have risen.
The consensus agreement provides for a one-cent increase in the
County’s portion of the sales tax, county-wide cuts of 4%, up to
$180 million in sales tax anticipation notes, and various other revenue
adjustments that have been made throughout the amendment process. The
Stroger administration also agreed to fast-track its proposal to move
towards an independent governance structure for the County’s
health care system.
“We got where we needed to be, and that’s a great victory
for the five and a half million people who live and work in Cook
County,” said President Stroger. “By working together, my
administration and the board of commissioners have achieved a common
goal today – to ensure that the millions of County residents who
rely on us for vital services can continue to count on us to meet those
critical needs.”
The County had until midnight Friday to pass an appropriations bill for
the 2008 fiscal year – the deadline under state statute for the
County’s 17 commissioners to pass a balanced budget.
Without a budget, County officials will have been prohibited from
expending any funds, emergency and otherwise, for continued government
operation – effectively shutting the County down. That shutdown
would include an end to expenditures for County government operations
that provide vital services in the arenas of health, safety, and other
mandated operations. Stroger joined County Sheriff Tom Dart and
State’s Attorney Dick Devine in filing a lawsuit this afternoon
seeking emergency court intervention to preserve at least the operation
of vital services.
State statute requires the President to propose a balanced budget
– and a majority of the Board to agree on the appropriation
bill’s final terms by the end of the first quarter of the fiscal
year, which began on December 1.
With the implementation of the proposed sales tax increase, the Board
will only be able to collect revenue against the increase for two
months during fiscal year 2008.
Last year, Stroger proposed and the County Board passed a budget that
cut half a billion dollars from the County’s 2007 budget to
address a running shortfall in Cook County’s revenue stream,
which has remained flat for nearly a decade.
“Today, this administration moves forward in addressing a chronic
structural deficit while continuing to meet the needs of those who rely
on us for essential services,” said Stroger.
For
more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook
County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or
iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com.
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