Lead pipe replacements, 911 calls
Today’s 9am meeting will be budget hearings for:
- Office of Emergency Management and Communications
- Department of Water Management
- Chicago Department of Aviation
Tune in here: https://livestream.com/accounts/28669066
The revised (Oct 1) budget hearing schedule for all departments can be found here (PDF): https://chicago.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=E1&ID=895248&GUID=74A6671E-B574-424D-B1B8-98F6F502A384
Walker Hayes - “Country Stuff” was playing but then was abruptly stopped in favor of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
There are 178 people tuned in listening to “Crazy in Love” at the moment.
The meeting is called to order at 9:37am.
Roll is established, establishing a quorum (15 members present).
We are beginning the public comment period. All commentary is virtual. There are no in-person speakers.
- Rep from the American Heart Association discusses racial health gap and how chronic illnesses impact the gap. They voice concerns over budget cuts to treating chronic illnesses. Hypertension levels rose for black and Hispanic residents but fell for white residents.
- Caller continues by asking for $2 million in budget funds allocated to treating chronic illness. This would be about double past budget allocation.
- Rep from Respiratory Health Association also addresses the racial life expectancy gap and calls for more funds to be allocated to treating chronic diseases. They say chronic disease lead to this stat: Black residents account for 20% of COVID-19 cases but 40% of the deaths.
- The caller asks for $3 million in funds to be allocated to treating chronic diseases.
- The caller is not present.
This concludes the public comment period.
The Office of Emergency Management and Communications is present and will now deliver their budget presentation. Staff is being introduced.
The view for the budget presentation. If there are presentation sides or figures, we cannot see them. https://t.co/g6owqurW0Y
OEMC discusses recent initiatives such as residents’ ability to share home security camera footage in crime investigated. Also discussed are initiatives to respond to mental health incidents.
OEMC discusses the recently-announced Safe Chicago program: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/oem/provdrs/emerg_mang/news/2021/september/oemc-and-city-of-chicago-partners-launch-the-safe-chicago-progra.html
OEMC says there have been 37k sign-ups for the Smart911 program.
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/oem/provdrs/Smart911.html
Ald Burnett praises OEMC for their efforts in managing COVID-19 vaccination centers. Burnett also brings up that OEMC’s traffic management frees up policing resources. He suggests that OEMC be allowed to hire off-duty or retired police to work at festivals instead of on-duty CPD.
Ald Smith says she has been happy with improvements to OEMC’s response times.
OEM says # of CIT calls are 47212 through August (out of 2.59 million to date).
OEMC says crossing guards was moved to the CPS budget, which reportedly saved about $15 million from OEMC’s budget.
Ald Thompson asked for # of 911 calls per district, which will be provided through the chair.
OEMC has 125 vacancies right now. 82 are from 911 floor. OEMC reportedly will be hiring.
Richard Guidice from OEMC says that there is high turnover in the 911 call center, which partly accounts for the vacancy numbers.
OEMC keeps 911 call records by district, 311 calls by ward. About 4 years of historical records are kept.
Guidice says the co-responder model (with OEMC dispatch) officially started yesterday.
Guidice says there are 33k cameras throughout Chicago, 4k owned by the city.
Guidice says 52% of 311 calls are via phone but prefers more folks start using the 311 app. Ald Ervin asked for more detailed status updates and communication for issue reported through the app.
Andrea Chang, Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Water Management, introduces her team and will deliver the budget presentation.
Chang says she and her department have reduced work orders (from 2019 level) by about 67% (or 69%, don’t recall exactly which).
Chang says that three new lead service line replacement programs were rolled out in 2021.
Chang discusses the equity lead service line replacement program, described here: https://www.leadsafechicago.org/lead-service-line-replacement. The program provides lead service line replacement for those who cannot afford it.
Water Dept has 298 vacancies:
- 35 new vacancies to the budget (positions to be filled)
- Remaining are due to attrition
Chang says 33% of their staff is over the age of 55 and nearing retirement.
Chang says that folks can request water testing kits to get mailed to them (most popular option), but they also have a contractor that can come on-site to perform testing.
Ald Smith discusses the complicated and sometimes long process of fixing street flooding. She asks Chang and the Water Department for better communication and coordination with CDOT.
Chang says that lead service line replacement is a big opportunity for contractor diversity and says that the Water Department is engaged in reaching out to minority contractor groups.
Water Department will be hiring 126 new construction laborers for 2022.
As of Sept 2021 - 71 employees retired from Water Dept. It is anticipated that about 80-90 will retire in 2022 (most departures are in June or December). 80-90 retire per year on average
Water Department says that in 2012, about 25% of water mains were over 100 years old. Currently, that percentage is at about 17%.
Ald Thompson asks Chang for greater communication between city departments in situations where a street is resurfaced. The idea is to replace the underlying water infrastructure (if needed) before the street is resurfaced.
Chang says that in 2021 spent $48 million in construction contracts, about 35% of all contracting work.
Budget breakdown, per Chang:
Commodities -$62.8 million
Construction - $48.96 million
Design and engineering - $3.49 million
Construction management - $6.25 million
Engineering and consulting - $15.7 million
Chang was challenged on her department’s contracting of African Americans, which totaled less than 10% YTD.
Ald Burnett says he was disturbed by the fact that African American contractors comprised only about 7% while Hispanic contractors totaled 15%.
With regard to technology improvements, Chang says that paper applications and work orders have been replaced with iPads, databases, and dashboard software.
Chang says her department’s goal is to replace 400k lead service lines in 50 years.
This concludes the hearing for the Department of Water Management.
We are taking a five minute recess. Department of Aviation is next.
Commissioner Jamie Rhee introduces her team and will provide the budget presentation for the Department of Aviation.
Budgets for O’Hare and Midway will be (respectively) about $489 million and $118 million. The O’Hare figure differs a bit from what is listed here: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/obm/supp_info/2021Budget/DepartmentStatements/Aviation.pdf
Rhee says the Dept of Aviation has 293 openings
- 74 airport security officer positions they are attempting to fill
- 78 positions since Sept 1 are hired or being hired
- Requesting 117 additional positions
Rhee says the biggest opportunities for growth in the Department of Aviation are accessibility and workforce development and training.
Rhee says that airport salaries are not on-par with other airports and has been asked to provide comparison salaries to ensure those offered by Chicago are competitive.
The Committee on Budget and Government Operations stands at recess as of 4:35pm.
The Committee on Budget and Government Operations will reconvene Monday, 10/4 at 9:00am.
This concludes my coverage for @CHIdocumenters. #CHIDocumenters
Please see the Chicago City Council website for more information. Reply to this thread or DM me with any questions.