Immediately following yesterday’s City Council vote to pass the 2012 balanced budget proposal, Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for a meeting first thing Thursday morning with key members of his cabinet and department heads to discuss his expectations for budget implementation. In a letter being sent to all department Commissioners today, the Mayor announced that he is instituting a reporting process to hold the Administration accountable for achieving the budget reforms and savings that need to be realized in 2012.

To ensure transparency as implementation begins, each department will provide and post monthly updates on their implementation progress. The Office of Budget and Management will issue and post quarterly updates about progress on the 2012 budget, including an analysis of overall expenditures and revenues.

The 2012 budget goes into effect on January 1, 2012. The full letter from the Mayor to the Commissioners is below.

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November 17, 2011

Dear Commissioners:

Yesterday was an historic day for Chicago.  The 2012 budget that was approved represents a new partnership with the City Council and the people of Chicago.  Aldermen proposed ideas to create and improve our proposal as did Chicagoans across the City in unprecedented fashion.  Working together, we created an honest budget, and a budget that makes the hard choices to serve the people of Chicago while taking the first step toward stabilizing our finances and protecting our City’s future.

We could not have accomplished this without your hard work, commitment, and dedication to the people of our great city.  So I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts in crafting this 2012 budget plan.  And as we reflect on what we’ve accomplished, I would ask that you turn your attention to the challenges we face ahead.

The 2012 budget is an ambitious roadmap for success, and it will require your constant diligence and hard work to ensure it is implemented correctly and that we achieve the needed savings for our taxpayers and residents while continuing to improve the efficiency and quality of the services we provide.

Now that we have a budget plan approved and a set of commitments to meet, I will ask each of you to report to me and the public on your progress meeting those commitments at regular intervals throughout 2012.

I expect the following regular reports:

• The Office of Budget and Management will distribute to each of you a list of the commitments your department must meet as part of the 2012 budget plan, and your progress must be updated and reported to Office of Budget and Management on a monthly basis;
• The City will post monthly updates on the City’s progress toward our 2012 budget commitments online; and
• The Office of Budget and Management will issue and post quarterly updates on the 2012 budget, including an analysis of overall expenditures and revenues.

As public servants, it is our duty to every Chicagoan to hold ourselves accountable and follow through on these promises. I want to thank you again for your dedication and commitment to crafting an innovative budget that reflects the right priorities for the City of Chicago. 

Now our real work begins.  Our ability to strengthen Chicago’s finances and continue providing the services our taxpayers and residents rely upon are dependent on your success. 

Sincerely,

Mayor Rahm Emanuel

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