April 18, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Andre Garner, Director of Communications & Public Affairs, at 773-562-8874 or email Garner at afgarner@cookcountygov.com.

Financial Report Shows Cook County Meeting Budget Targets Overall

New monthly reporting schedule designed to enhance accountability, agency compliance with budget goals.

Chicago – Cook County Board President Todd Stroger released a four-month financial summary today that shows that overall expenditures are running at 32.40% – just under the expected rate for the first third of the fiscal year.

The four-month report is part of a larger system of budget accountability that Stroger has put in place, including new monthly reports on targeted and actual spending that are now issued no later than thirty days after the end of the month. Today’s monthly report was issued 18 days after the close of the month. The new reporting initiatives are part of the administration’s commitment to provide the Cook County Board and the public with access to timely information about department budget expenditures. More broadly, the measures are designed to help County agencies meet current spending requirements and begin rebuilding the County’s fund balance reserves, an approach that is expected to preserve and over the long term enhance the County’s strong bond rating.

“For Cook County to fulfill its mission, every department must shoulder the burden of financial discipline – and transparency and accountability play a core role in that process,” said Stroger.

The new reporting parameters are designed to foster budget discipline among agencies and the Board, emphasize the importance of the budget as both a management tool and a legal document, and encourage spending control.

Overall, departments in the corporate fund are at 26.58% of spending for the year and departments in the public safety fund are at 28.73% of expenditures for the year – both well under the target expenditure rate of 33.33%.

Expenditures in the health fund are at 38.62% for the year, a figure health officials believe can be reduced considerably by bringing expenditures on pharmaceuticals down via co-pays for prescriptions, and by recapturing funds from insurance companies and other third party payers to which the County is entitled.

“We have also centralized purchasing at the bureau level to take advantage of bulk purchasing,” says Tom Glaser, Chief Financial Officer of the Bureau of Health Services. “This has the added benefit of making it easier to monitor inventory on hand throughout the Bureau. We’re also moving patient registration under finance, which will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to generate and distribute an accurate bill for services provided.”

“This four-month report, coupled with our new monthly reporting structure, is designed to help departments get their arms around their expenditures more effectively and meet their bottom line,” says County Comptroller Joe Fratto. “The point is not to be punitive, but to provide timely information that encourages a climate of fiscal discipline that will help us meet our core mission within our spending imperatives.”

For more information, contact Andre Garner, Director of Communications & Public Affairs for the Office of the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, at 312-603-0393 or email Garner at afgarner@cookcountygov.com.

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