The Cook County Board on Friday approved a compromise budget of $2.9 billion that includes no new taxes and eliminates board President Todd Stroger’s plan to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars to cover day-to-day operating costs.
Commissioners also agreed to spend another $294 million by the end of 2010 on construction projects and technology upgrades that will require borrowing money — a common way to pay for long-term purchases.
Left unresolved was how the county will cover $104 million in employee pension obligations. Stroger said he is trying to work out a payment plan with pension-fund leaders and might ask to borrow up to $30 million this year to meet the first installment.
“The Cook County Board took a positive but very modest step in the direction of fiscal responsibility,” said Laurence Msall, president of The Civic Federation, a non-profit budget watchdog group funded by the business community.
The county reduced future interest payments by $214 million because commissioners rejected Stroger’s initial wish to borrow $260 million to pay for insurance claims and court costs and another $104 million for pensions, Msall said.
But he questioned the board’s decision to rely on $47 million in increased federal funding to cover some of the costs of public health care before the amount the county will receive is certain.
In addition to increasing revenue projections, the board also cut what Stroger wanted to spend by $37 million. Those cuts were opposed by Cook County State’s Atty. Anita Alvarez and Public Defender Edwin Burnette.
Commissioner Forrest Claypool (D-Chicago), who is weighing a primary challenge to Stroger next year, voted for the budget because it did not include new taxes or borrowing for operating costs.
Commissioners Jerry “Iceman” Butler, Mike Quigley and Larry Suffredin, all Democrats, voted against the spending plan. Butler said he was concerned about 2 percent cuts in health care.
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