The Office of Public Safety Administration was created in Lori Lightfoot’s first budget, and launched as a full and independently functioning department by 2021. The 2020 OPSA budget was something of a placeholder, without fully-fleshed appropriation and position totals, making 2021 the first benchmark year for the department’s subsequent growth.
Office of Public Safety Administration Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2026 Budget
Although the overall number of budgeted positions at OPSA has not changed from the previous year, the 2027 budget proposal makes numerous changes to the budgeted titles, including eliminating the single position budgeted last year for the Senior Help Desk Technician and Finance Officer titles.
A number of new titles have also been added, including two positions for the Certified Medical Assistant title and one position each in the Attorney and Data Base Analyst titles.
Telephone maintenance appropriations at OPSA more than tripled in the new budget proposal, up $2.9 million (215.2%) from 2026.
Historical Context
Fluctuations in the years since OPSA’s establishment have largely balanced one another out over time: from 2021-2026, departmental appropriations have grown at a rate of 1.1% annually, which when adjusting for inflation through 2025 works out to an average decline of -2.5%, compared to citywide average budget growth of 7.4% annually for the same period.
The current proposal decreases OPSA’s appropriations slightly, down -0.6% from the previous year.
Office of Public Safety Administration 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 PSA fringe cost for nongrant employees averaged 12.3% from 2021-2026, compared to a citywide average of 26.8%.
Office of Public Safety Administration 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, OPSA spent on average 90.5% of its locally funded budget, compared to the citywide average 86.6% local fund spend.
Office of Public Safety Administration Local Fund Actuals, 2022–2025
Overall, OPSA’s budgeted headcount grew at an average annual rate of 1.3% from 2021-2026, compared to a citywide average annual change of 0.6%. The current proposal retains the same total headcount for OPSA as the previous year.
Office of Public Safety Administration Budgeted Workforce, 2011–2027 (proposed)
From January through September of 2026, the months for which full-time position vacancy data is currently available, OPSA averaged an 18% vacancy rate, compared to the citywide average of 11.2%.
Office of Public Safety Administration Full-time Vacancies, Jan-Sept 2026
48 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):
Office of Public Safety Administration Persistent Full-time Vacancies, Jan-Sept 2026
Although the overall number of budgeted positions at OPSA has not changed from the previous year, the 2027 budget proposal makes numerous changes to the budgeted titles, including eliminating the single position budgeted last year for the Senior Help Desk Technician and Finance Officer titles. A number of new titles have also been added, including two positions for the Certified Medical Assistant title and one position each in the Attorney and Data Base Analyst titles.
See below for additional title-level changes:
Office of Public Safety Administration Net and Percent Position/FTE Changes, 2026 to 2027 (Proposed) Budgets
As with most departments, personnel costs make up the bulk of OPSA’s appropriations, with salaries and wages on payroll by far the largest expense category, followed by IT maintenance.
Office of Public Safety Administration Top 10 Largest Appropriations, 2027 proposed
In 2025, the most recent complete budget year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, OPSA spent 85.2% of its locally-funded budget, with no overspend in any appropriation lines.
Office of Public Safety Administration 2025 Actual Spend (Local Funds)
Telephone maintenance appropriations at OPSA more than tripled in the new budget proposal, up $2.9 million (215.2%) from 2026.
The largest single-appropriation decrease is in funds held in reserve balance, down -$5.6 million (-34.2%) from the previous year. Several small line items have been entirely eliminated from OPSA’s budget, including Contract Wage – Prevailing Rate ($179,409 in 2026), Lease/Purchase Equipment ($110,000) and Accounting and Auditing ($75,000).
Office of Public Safety Administration 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.
