Aldermen Should Demand Greater Budget Transparency
Statement from Brian Imus, State Director with Illinois PIRG
Mayor Daley's decision to fill next year's budget gap with $350 million from the parking meter privatization deal not only ignores long-term budget problems, it borrows from future generations. By spending revenue generated on the expectation of revenue of future generations, the Mayor's proposal is like a bad payday loan that their children will have to pay back.
Proceeds from the parking meter privatization deal is money that would have otherwise been a steady stream of income for future mayors to use to balance their budgets. Mayor Daley is taking this money from those future mayors as well.
If ever there was a time for the Chicago City Council to demand greater transparency and oversight of the city budget, it is now.
Budget transparency and other basic taxpayer protections, while far from revolutionary, are the ingredients missing in Chicago. The type of backroom policymaking that led to the parking meter debacle is the same type of governing that is responsible for the budget mess we face today.
Chicago can and should be a leader in providing information on government budgeting, spending and contracts to the public. The city's roughly $6 billion annual budget is comparable to that of states such as Rhode Island that have implemented tools to increase transparency. Moreover, investment in greater transparency can help Chicago overcome its reputation for backroom politics.
