City Council – BGA Policy 2027 Budget Snapshot

City Council does not hold a dedicated hearing for their own budget. The first day’s hearing with the Office of Budget and Management and the Department of Finance is therefore the best opportunity for any questions relating to the council’s budget. 

• Council’s budget remained relatively unchanged from the previous year, with an overall 4.4% increase in appropriations due to slight upticks in wages and salaries and other personnel expenses.
  
• Budgeted headcount remained unchanged from the previous year. 

From 2011-2026, the council’s budget grew at an average rate of 2.7% annually, or 0.5% when adjusted for inflation through 2025, compared to a citywide average rate of 5.5% (inflation-adjusted 3.2%). The current proposal would increase the department’s appropriations by 4.4% from the previous year.

City budgets do not break out “fringe” pension and benefit costs for non-grant positions by department, instead grouping them together as citywide expenses under the Finance General section of the budget. To better reflect the real cost of service for departmental operations, BGA Policy has included an estimate of pension and benefit costs for the years 2018-2026, using Department of Finance fringe memos from each relevant year. An estimated fringe cost for the 2027 proposal uses the average annual rate of increase for each of the inputs into the fringe formulae. 

Based on the city’s fringe formulae, City Council’s fringe cost for nongrant employees averaged 32.9% from 2018-2026, compared to a citywide average of 26.8%. 

Over the past four complete budget years for which local fund actuals/encumbrances data is available, the council spent on average 91% of its locally funded budget, compared to the citywide average 86.6% local fund spend.

Staffing levels at City Council have remained relatively stable for years, with the 50 alderpersons and their allotted aides and staff aides making up the bulk of the department’s budgeted workforce. 

Overall, the department’s budgeted headcount grew at an average annual rate of 1% from 2011-2026, compared to a citywide average annual change of -0.1%. The current proposal would keep the council’s budgeted workforce the same as the previous year. 

From January through September of 2026, the months for which full-time position vacancy data is currently available, City Council averaged an 8.3% vacancy rate, compared to the citywide average of 11.2%. 

19 of the department’s budgeted full-time positions were persistent vacancies (defined as the number of positions within the same combination of title, subsection, section, division, department, and fund codes that remained vacant in all nine months of available data): 

The 2027 proposed budget does not make any changes in budgeted positions for City Council. 

City Council is entirely locally-funded in this year’s budget proposal, with no grant funds. 97.1% of the council’s appropriations come from the city’s general purpose corporate fund. 

Largest Appropriations

As with most departments, personnel costs make up the bulk of City Council’s appropriations, with wages for ward staff and other personnel services making up the top three appropriations categories, followed by the ward office expense accounts. 

In 2025, the most recent complete budget year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, City Council spent 97.3% of its locally-funded budget, including a slight overspend in the personnel services appropriation. 

Change from Previous Year

The 4.4% increase in council’s budget this year comes entirely from increases in wages and salaries and other personnel services. 

Net and Percent Appropriation Changes, 2026 to 2027 (proposed) Budgets