With huge budget shortfall, (Chicago) city (massive) layoffs loom

[UpInArms]

Source: Chicago Sun Times

Top mayoral aides have been meeting privately with union leaders to prepare them for the loud noise they'll hear this week, when Mayor Daley lowers the budget boom.

Daley's preliminary 2009 budget is expected to include the largest shortfall in recent memory -- more than $400 million, according to some sources -- setting the stage for service cuts, employee layoffs, unpaid furlough days or a combination of the three.

<snip>

"They said it's going to be very bad. I said, 'There's always a black hole when we're in negotiations.' They said, 'This is more than a black hole,' " the union leader said. "They're looking for cooperation. They're probably looking at unpaid furlough days again. They said that could be one of the ways we could show a cooperative effort."

The mayor has already tied his own hands by promising to hold the line on property taxes on the heels of last year's record increase.

<snip>

"Food prices go up. Gas prices go up. And expenses go up. The dollar is losing value continually. We are in a serious financial crisis in America. I keep saying that. People look at it and, maybe, dismiss it. But, I think we're in a much more serious financial crisis than people . . . believe. It's gonna have a long effect on this economy," Daley said Friday.

Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/1076355,CST-NWS-budg27.article

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drip...drip...drip

until the boom drops

[skoalyman]

1. It's going to be tough on every state I read were new york is expecting a

short fall this year because of low then normal wall street bonuses.:shrug:

[dysfunctional press]

2. the next 4 years have been designed to DESTROY the democratic party.

it's going to get UGH-ly, and we're going to get the blame.

[Peregrine Took]

3. There's 59 million in uncollected traffic (ran red light) tickets. Why aren't

they collecting that?

I heard it on a local radio program. Violators were picked up by the new traffic cameras at certain intersections.

[happyslug]

4. Can you suggest HOW???

The problems with most tickets is getting them paid. If the person who received the ticket can pay, is willing to pay and afraid not to pay, those tickets were paid years ago. What we have are tickets on people that are unable and unwilling to pay.

Lets look at those people unable to pay. They are a lot of them, on welfare but had a car in the past or need their car to get to work (Most new jobs over the last 40 or so years have been in the Suburbs NOT the Cities). Once they pay their rent, food and gasoline, they have no more money to pay out. You can confiscate their car and even jail such people, but if they do NOT have the money they can NOT pay no matter what you do.

OK, lets call the people who are unable to pay the minority, that makes the people who are unwilling to pay the majority of people who have NOT paid their tickets. If they live outside Illinois Chicago has to take the case to court, get a Judgment and then transfer that Judgment to where the the person who was given the ticket lives. This can be done but every court involved has to be paid, and if the person still does not pay, the City eats the costs. Most states will NOT pull someone license for parking tickets and will NOT pull a car license plate for parking tickets. Those states will pull someone's license for traffic violations like running a red light, but then those same drivers will just drive without a license. Attachment of wages is possible, providing the person given the ticket has a job, but if he does not, the city is just out of luck.

The people who live outside of Chicago has the same rights, but since they come into Chicago every so often Chicago can go after their car. The problem here is if the city does so, what if the car is worth less then the Ticket? What if the ticket holder values the car less then he values the money to pay the ticket (Leave the City pay to sell the car, often at a loss). Traffic Ticket can be enforced by the action of the State, but in most states (I am unfamiliar with Chicago and Illinois) then the money goes to the STATE not the City. Chicago thus has no incentive to turn this money over to the state, but has no way to enforce these tickets on people who live outside Chicago.

Thus the problem of these outstanding tickets, if the person given the ticket was willing to pay on the ticket it would already be done. If the car or person is in Chicago, Chicago can go after the car or the person by confiscating the car (i.e. the Boot), or arresting the driver and jailing him or requiring him to post a bond till the hearing (The bond amount is generally the ticket amount). That is about all the City can do. Remember most of these tickets were NOT given to upstanding middle class people in Chicago (Those PAID their Tickets) but to people who have none or very little connection to the work force (Some may be dead, from natural causes for all I know). If Chicago can NOT find the car to boot it, or arrest the Driver, they is not much else the City can do. You have to catch the person before you can collect and often when you catch him or her, all Chicago gets is further costs (i.e. arrest for someone for outstanding fines and find out he or she is wanted for more serious crimes, which sends the person to jail, where he can NOT earn money to pay off his fines).

Most Cities have such large "reserve" of tickets, but find it hard if not impossible to collect on them. This will continue till Chicago starts to arrest people for each violation and demand a bond for them to be released (or held in jail till the trial). The problem is most of these are just crimes subject to a fine offenses, to jail them for one violation is excessive. For a lot of violations such arrest makes sense, but where do you draw the line and given that many of these tickets were given by mail, i.e. photographed running a red light and then sent a summons, how do you airest them? Especially if they live out of the City?

No this $59 million does NOT really exists. The ability to collect on it is slim and to hope for the people given these tickets to pay on them is out of the question. What Chicago have to do is what I fear most cities will have to do, raise property taxes.

[UpInArms]

11. why did they buy such an expensive method of outsourcing cops

if they can't use that method to collect the fines?

[happyslug]

12. Most police officer want to write tickets NOT collect on them

In my Home state of Pennsylvania every ticket an officer writes gets him or her 1 1/2 hour overtime, whether they show up for the trial or not. The Local judges schedule cases involving such officers back to back, so they can be done quickly, to Maximize the money to the officer and minimize the time in these cases by the Judge. Collecting is a whole different story. The Police is out of the loop for they want to be out on the streets writing more Tickets (Mostly on people who will pay, so the City wants the Officers on the Street). For the Police to go to the residence of the Ticket holder, and try to arrest him or her ties up that officer for up to a day and all he gets is his regular pay and the city gets the cost of keeping the person in jail. The City did NOT want that, they want the money, so the city did want a number of Cities did, sell off these tickets to people who offer to try to collect them. How do these groups try? by calling the person and harassing them. The problem is what if the person has no phone or will NOT answer their phone? While that case goes back to the City as noncollectable and the City gets to sit on it some more.

You are making a presumption that these tickets are collectible, I suspect the tickets are not, either because the person can NOT pay the ticket OR for some other reason (i.e. in Jail for all I know). Business has a word for these type of tickets, is is called "Bad Debts" and are required to be written off the books as noncollectable by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Stock Market and any other group who reviews the books of Corporations. The City of Chicago does NOT come under such rules, so apparently has kept these tickets on the books. Good like trying to collect on them, if that was possible the person who was given the ticker would have paid years ago.

[UpInArms]

16. no presumption here - why put in this elaborate system if ithere is no

way to collect all the monies owed?

too many man hours to do the job to collect the fines and too many man hours necessary to do do the job - so put in machinery and technology so that the fines pile up and nothing gets collected.

Everyone just gets turned into a criminal and no money flows into the city coffers and debts pile up and the technology gets to be paid for - why?

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. Because it would cost $200 million to "collect" it?

:shrug:

[michreject]

5. It's gonna get worse

Dley has vowed to fight the reversal of the gun ban all the way to the SC. Gonna cost a lot of nicklels.

[Pale Blue Dot]

6. This is happening to some degree with state and local governments all over the country.

The Federal government has been pushing more of the burden onto them, and politicians are refusing to raise taxes. This was all inevitable.

[WriteDown]

7. In Chicago?

How on Earth are they out of money? Tax-base must be huge. They should do what Dallas is doing. They had 3 constables ON FOOT in the middle of the street at a major intersection just pulling over various cars over. They are searching for unpaid warrants. I actually got cited for failure to change my address on my license. Going to be a day wasted and they'll get my 10$ for having the ticket dismissed.

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. No income tax

And the property and other income are stretched already.

Cost for city stickers on the cars went up, and I got a $120 ticket for being a day late putting that on the car. Ouch.

Many many services.

[WriteDown]

10. Interesting....

There is no state income tax in Dallas either, but that doesn't stop them from constantly raising property taxes. They still could attempt the warrant collections like I cited.

[Critters2]

13. Illinois does have a state income tax. nt

[AngryAmish]

14. I have, for the first time in my life, now gone 2 years without the city sticker ticket

I finally learned.

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. $120 for the ticket

And $123 for the sticker, since I had to buy it at a currency exchange that day or I'd get another one the next day. Grace period ended July 15. I got the ticket before 9am July 16th.

They most definitely do NOT fuck around.

[ohio2007]

17. the cost of graft and corruption is staggering in Chi town

I rue the day my city tows my car in for unpaid parking tickets. But at least I don't have to buy a sticker for the privilege of getting parking tickets .

Kind of like the NFL seat liscense.
You have to buy a personal seat liscense for the right to buy a season seat ticket.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. The City Sticker was the first ticket I ever got here

If you read the signs and follow the law, you shouldn't get parking tickets in Chicago. It's not really that complicated. I like that my street is cleaned regularly, and that third lanes are open some mornings to alleviate congestion. Plus, I get to live in Chicago, which is fucking great.