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This story was printed from NCBG,
located at ..//public_works/mun_fac.htm.
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What are Municipal Facilities?

The City of Chicago's $2.43 billion 2003-2007 non-aviation Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) includes, under the Municipal Facilities category, funding for fire and police stations, health and human services centers, libraries, senior centers, City-owned office buildings, and City operations centers.

Funding for Municipal Facilities Decreased from 2002 to 2003

The total five-year allocation for all municipal facilities, $207.8 million, represents a 57.5% decrease from the 2002-6 allocation, as shown in the chart below.

Centers of Community Life

In 1999, a 5% tax increase (bringing the City’s levy up to Mayor Daley’s own self-imposed tax cap maximum) was earmarked specifically for a 5-year program of building branch libraries and police and fire stations. The tax increase supported $800 million in bonds. 

Mayor Daley hailed this program as an investment in Chicago’s “centers of community life.”  

Most Chicago residents value libraries, along with senior, human services, and health centers, as true centers of community life.  While libraries were included in the $800 million bond issue, if we look at allocations in the 2003-7 CIP (see pie chart), we see that new libraries play a secondary role to police and fire stations, with only 5% of the full 5-year Municipal Facilities capital plan allocated to libraries.  

A true community life facility category that has experienced a significant decrease in allocation in recent years is City health centers. The 2003-2007 CIP includes only $400,000 for health centers, a decrease from the $715,000 allocated for them in the 2002-06 CIP, and a tiny proportion of the entire Municipal Facilities budget.  At this point, the City is still assessing the role of these centers, their optimal locations, whether they should continue to be leased or become city-owned facilities, and other questions.

In 2000, several communities advocated for more local senior citizen centers. In response, Mayor Daley added 10 senior centers to the 2002-2006 CIP, at a cost of $2 million each. The first of these centers will be located in the Englewood, Austin, and Roseland neighborhoods.

How Does the City Pay for Municipal Facilities?

To pay for many CIP projects, since 1992 the City has issued General Obligation (GO) annually from anticipated property tax revenues each year.

Fully 100% of the costs of municipal facilities are funded through City of Chicago General Obligation (GO) bonds; no federal monies are used. These GO bonds are the Neighborhoods Alive bonds for 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 and a 1997 library fund bond. Total GO bonds for municipal facilities for the 2003-2007 CIP is $207.8 million.