During the municipal budget hearings last Fall, I pledged to help our city work smarter and use your tax dollars more efficiently and called for a Task Force on City worker absenteeism. Budget Update #3- Making the City Cost-Efficient.  

 

Today, The City of Chicago Absenteeism Task Force that I co-chaired released its findings which show that fundamental changes could save taxpayers at least 10 million dollars annually, as well as improve the delivery of city services, by increasing worker productivity and avoiding unnecessary overtime.  And those savings can grow. You can read the full report of the Task Force here.  Our work revealed that "overt absenteeism" (unexcused absences), is widespread in some City departments and double the national average.  For example, The Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) estimated that it alone had $3 million/year in excess costs due to no-shows.

 

Starting today about 15,000 city employees will be required to "clock" in and out using an electronic fingerprint system. The police and fire departments, which rely today solely on paper time-keeping, will need two years to fully transition to electronic timekeeping. 

Uncovering and defining this complex problem is just the beginning.  I intend to make sure City Council continues monitoring absenteeism rates as well as track how quickly changes are implemented for the 34,000 workers on the City payroll.  I hope to be able to report back on progress on the on-going fight to spend your tax dollars wisely and secure the services you pay for.  As always,  I value your comments and feedback .