FFM is the city’s primary maintenance department, responsible for the motor pool and physical property management. The department was briefly merged with the IT department under Lori Lightfoot before the two were separated again under Mayor Johnson.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2026 Budget
Most of FFM’s proposed net increase of nine positions/FTEs comes from increases in hourly positions budgeted in Fleet Services.The proposal eliminates the Environmental Engineer title category from the department (taken over by the Department of Environment), removing five positions total, as well as eliminating the Health and Safety Analyst title and single budgeted position. The proposal also removes one position each from the Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and Assistant Chief Operating Engineer titles.
FFM’s hotel tax appropriations have been almost completely eliminated from the 2027 proposal – in the 2026 budget, the hotel and special events tax funded roughly $10 million of FFM’s Millennium Park operations, but in the 2027 budget, FFM’s share of Millennium Park costs is entirely appropriated out of the corporate fund.
FFM’s proposed budget appropriates $3.6 million for vehicles, a 657.2% increase from the previous year, when the vehicle budget was nearly zeroed out at $550,000. A vehicle tracking service appropriation is also up $3.4 million, a 202.6% increase from 2026.
Gas and power costs are up significantly in the budget proposal, with multimillion dollar increases in the department’s appropriations for diesel fuel, gasoline, natural gas, and electricity.
Historical Context
The Department of Fleet & Facility Management, which is varyingly acronymized as both 2FM and FFM in city documentation, was created in Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first budget by the merger of the Department of Fleet Management with most of the responsibilities of the Department of General Services.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2020 budget created a new Department of Assets, Information and Services by combining the existing Department of Innovation and Technology (DOIT) with FFM. A 2022 BGA Policy analysis showed preliminary budgetary efficiencies and savings in appropriations budgeted for AIS compared to the two separate pre-merger departments.
Mayor Johnson undid the merger in his first budget, returning to a standalone information department (now DOTI rather than DOIT) and a separate FFM in 2024.
The historical overview charts in this snapshot include data from the Department of Fleet Services in the 2011 budget, the combined FFM in the 2012-2019 budgets, and the combined AIS in the 2020-2023 budgets.
During the 2012-2019 period after the Fleet/General Services merger but before the addition of IT, the department’s appropriations grew at an average annual rate of 3.5%, or 2.2% adjusted for inflation, compared to a citywide rate for the same period of 4.1% (inflation-adjusted 2.9%).
The department’s appropriations increased substantially following the merger with DOIT and transition to AIS. FFM’s appropriations did not see an equivalent decline following the 2024 decoupling from DOTI; 2027’s proposed $565.1 million budget for FFM as a standalone department is higher than the inflation-adjusted $556.3 million average budget of the merged AIS department from 2020-2023.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Appropriations and Inflation-adjusted Appropriations (2025 dollars)
Values in nominal dollars.
Values in 2025 dollars. No supplied inflation factors for 2026, 2027; those years remain gaps.
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, the FFM/AIS fringe cost for nongrant employees averaged 10.6% from 2018-2026, compared to a citywide average of 26.8%.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Appropriations with Estimated Fringe Cost of Pensions and Benefits for Budgeted Non-grant Positions, 2018–2027 (proposed)
Over the past four complete budget years for which local fund actuals/encumbrances data is available, FFM spent on average 92.0% of its locally funded budget, compared to the citywide average 86.6% local fund spend.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Local Fund Actuals, 2022–2025
During the 2012-2019 pre-merger period, FFM’s total headcount increased by an average rate of 0.1% annually, compared to a citywide average of 1.2%. Headcount dropped with the de-merger from DOTI in 2024 and has remained relatively consistent with slight declines since.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Budgeted Workforce, 2011–2027 (proposed)
From January through September of 2026, the months for which full-time position vacancy data is currently available, FFM averaged a 11.3% vacancy rate in its full-time positions, very close to the citywide average of 11.2%.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Full-time Vacancies, Jan-Sept 2026
63 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):
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Persistent Full-time Vacancies, Jan-Sept 2026
Most of FFM’s net increase of nine positions/FTEs comes from increases in hourly positions budgeted: 10 additional Electrical Mechanic – Automotive, two additional Fleet Services Supervisor, two Machinist – Automotive, and two Motor Truck Driver – Tire Repair positions, all of which are budgeted as hourly positions. The proposal also calls for an additional Administrative Services Officer II, an annual position.
On the cuts side of the staffing proposal, the mayor’s 2027 FFM budget eliminates the Environmental Engineer title category (taken over by the Department of Environment), removing five positions total, as well as eliminating the Health and Safety Analyst title and single budgeted position. The proposal also removes one position each from the Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and Assistant Chief Operating Engineer titles, and replaces a Project Manager position with a Project Director position.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Net and Percent Position/FTE Changes, 2026 to 2027 (Proposed) Budgets
FFM is 98.7% locally-funded in this year’s budget proposal, up very slightly from the previous year’s 98.4%
Slightly over half the department’s appropriations come from the city’s general-purpose corporate fund, with the remaining appropriations spread across the various other infrastructure funds. FFM also has a $170,000 in equipment lease and gasoline appropriations from the new Protecting CARE fund, which is funded by the city’s new social media amusement tax.
FFM’s hotel tax appropriations have been almost completely eliminated from the 2027 proposal – in the 2026 budget, the hotel and special events tax funded roughly $10 million of FFM’s Millennium Park operations, but in the 2027 budget, FFM’s share is entirely appropriated out of the corporate fund.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Fund Comparison, 2026–2027
As with most departments, wages and salaries are FFM’s largest expense category, with substantial appropriations for power, gas, and infrastructure expenses as well.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Top 10 Largest Appropriations, 2027 proposed
In 2025, the most recent complete budget year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, DEPT spent 89.3% of its locally-funded budget.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management 2025 Actual Spend (Local Funds)
FFM’s largest appropriation increase in the 2027 budget is a new $11.4 million appropriation for central library facilities maintenance, which in the previous year had been budgeted under the non-departmental Finance General section.
Gas and power costs are up in the budget proposal, with multimillion dollar increases in the department’s appropriations for diesel fuel, gasoline, natural gas, and electricity.
FFM’s proposed budget appropriates $3.6 million for vehicles, a 657.2% increase from the previous year, when the vehicle budget was nearly zeroed out at $550,000. A vehicle tracking service appropriation is also up $3.4 million, a 202.6% increase from 2026.
Department of Fleet and Facility Management Net and Percent Appropriation Changes, 2026 to 2027 (proposed) Budgets
Geoffrey Cubbage analyzes policy and budgets at the Better Government Association, covering state lawmakers and Chicago City Council. He joined BGA in 2022 after directing policy and economic development for Chicago’s 40th Ward.
