The Cost of City Council Committees
February 7, 2023
Analysis
What Is the Cost of Having 19 City Council Committees, and How Often Do They Meet?
These were the questions that LWV Chicago’s City Government Committee decided to try to answer. The answer to the first is $5.7 million. That amount was allocated to the City Council’s 19 Committees in the 2023 City Budget.
The answer to the second question varies considerably, depending on the committee. By our count, City Council Committees met between zero and more than 30 times in 2022.
The following six City Council Committees met three or fewer times in 2022:
Contracting, Oversight, Equity, chaired by Alder Jason Ervin
Met 3 times in 2022
2023 budget: $206,985Education & Child Development, without a chair since June of 2022
Met 2 times in 2022
2023 budget: $187,110Environmental Protection & Energy, without a chair since the end of November
Met 2 times in 2022
2023 budget: $222,724Ethics & Government Oversight, without a chair since August of 2022
Met 3 times in 2022
2023 budget: $197,463Immigrant & Refugee Rights, chaired by Arial Reboyras
Did not meet at all in 2022
2023 budget: $120,465Workforce Development & Audit, chaired by Susan S. Garza
Met 3 times in 2022 (though it did meet 8 and 6 times in 2021 and 2020, respectively)
2023 budget: $340,130
Where Does the Money Go?
Most of the budgets for City Council Committees cover the cost of staff. During the Zooming with the Alders interviews, we learned that the committee chair has total control over who and how many staff members there are and what they do, as long as the committee does not exceed its budgeted amount. The chair also determines when the committee will meet, how often, and what is on the agendas.
Where Did All Those Committees Come From?
The normal procedure is for the mayor to propose and the full City Council to approve Rules and Resolutions that specify what and how many committees there are and define their jurisdictions, members, chairs and vice-chairs, and budgets. However, there is nothing to preclude alders themselves from submitting proposals concerning committees, though that does not mean action will be taken. Currently, two resolutions are sitting in the Rules Committee that would appoint new chairs for the Ethics and Environmental Protection Committees. Those resolutions were sponsored by Alders Martin and LaSpata, respectively.
Similarly, there was recently a hiccup to the normal procedure late in 2022. The mayor proposed a new chair for the Education Committee, but then withdrew the proposal when it became clear there were not sufficient votes for approval. The position of chair has yet to be filled.
Check out a chart listing all City Council Committees, their chairs, 2023 budgets, and how many times the Committees met in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The City Government Committee hopes to dig deeper into the issues involving City Council Committees. Like to join us? Contact the League office at League@LWVChicago.org.