2012 Cook County Budget: Lower Taxes, Less Spending, Reduced Headcount
I am very pleased to report to you that on Friday November 18th, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the 2012 Budget by a vote of 16-1.
This streamlined budget reduces the Stroger sales tax increase another 25%, following a 50% reduction of the sales tax increase approved by the Board in February 2011. The final 25% of that sales tax increase will be eliminated in 2013.
I opposed many of the tax increases approved in the 2012 budget, including taxes on some tobacco products, a parking fee at county court houses and the adjustment of a variety of fees associated with permits and inspections to make them market rate. I did, however, support a tax on wholesale wine, beer and spirits--this modest alcohol tax will be dramatically offset by the reduction in the county sales tax rate. The total county tax we pay for wine, beer and spirits was less in 2011 than it was in 2010, will be less in 2012 than 2011 and will again be less in 2013 than 2012.
Work on the 2012 budget began March 1, 2011. It was a transparent, thorough and professional process. The final product was the result of compromise, collaboration and concessions, utilizing professional benchmarks such as the STAR Performance Management program.
The approved budget includes a variety of County-wide strategic reform initiatives that will transform county government and tackle the structural deficit in the years to come. These initiatives include:
- Centralized Management of all banking & financial relationships
- Consolidation of disparate, inefficient IT functions
- Overhaul of Time Management Policy
- Creation of Shared Services Center
Put short, this is a comprehensive and forward-thinking budget that incorporates key structural changes to County operations and makes significant investments in operational efficiency.
The Daily Herald newspaper editorial in support of this budget concluded with this paragraph:
"And it's worth noting that for whatever complaints this budget has attracted, the process has not suffered from the animosity seen elsewhere in politics. Indeed, we can think of some governmental leaders about 200 miles south or 700 miles east who could take a lesson from what's happening in Cook County - and we hope school, municipal and county agencies throughout the suburbs are paying attention, too."
