Office of Emergency Management and Communication – BGA Policy 2025 Budget Snapshot

Departmental Highlights

Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2024 Budget

• OEMC has gone through a series of changes in staffing and function; in its current form, following the establishment of the Office of Public Safety Administration, OEMC's budgeted appropriations and headcount have been declining while overall departmental and city budgets rise.
• OEMC is the only one of the city's public safety service departments with an increased headcount this year, up a net 13 positions, driven primarily by increases across multiple fire communications officer titles. The department is also adding two FOIA officer positions.
• The most substantial change in OEMC appropriations from the previous year is a -$15 million drop in outside contracting through the professional and technical services appropriation account, down -68.4% from the previous year.
• As with several other departments, OEMC's budget includes a "reserve balance" appropriation from a number of grant funds. This appropriation, which appears in several department's budgets and has been retroactively added to 2024 appropriations data as well, was not used in the previous year's budget at the time of its passage. BGA Policy has reached out to the Office of Budget and Management for clarification of this appropriation's purpose and has not yet received a reply.

Historical Context

OEMC has undergone a number of oversight and responsibility changes over the years, causing a great deal of variance in its historic budget and headcount comparisons.

A 2016 shift of crossing guards from the Chicago Public Schools budget to the city budget resulted in a near-doubling of OEMC's budgeted headcount in 2016, a move that was reversed with a corresponding staffing drop in 2021. Setting apart the roughly 800-900 annual positions related to crossing guard operations, OEMC's staffing levels have been relatively consistent.

Appropriations have declined as various OEMC expenses became obsolete or were shifted to other budgets, including phone billing and hardware categories and wages and benefits for crossing guards.

OEMC as it currently exists is most effectively compared to the 2021 budgets onwards, when the existing division of responsibilities between OEMC, the new OPSA, and the existing police and fire departments was fully implemented.

From 2021 through 2024, OEMC's budget appropriation declined at a rate of roughly -5.9% annually. During the same time period, overall city department budgets increased at an average rate of 10.8% annually, driven in large part by the influx of federal pandemic relief funds, while the entire city budget including Finance General increased 11.9% annually.

OEMC headcount declined at an average rate of -2.8% annually from 2021 through 2024, while overall city headcount rose at an average rate of 2% annually.

Staffing

OEMC is the only one of the city's public safety service departments with an increased headcount this year, up a net 13 positions, driven primarily by increases across multiple fire communications officer titles. The department is also adding two FOIA officer positions.

Appropriations

OEMC's overall budget is down, with a small increase in appropriations from the emergency communications fund substantially exceeded by decreasing appropriations from the corporate fund and federal, state, and local grants.

Largest Appropriations

Personnel expenses make up the majority of OEMC's budget, with salaries and wages on payroll the largest category by far.

As with several other departments, OEMC's budget includes a "reserve balance" appropriation from a number of grant funds. This appropriation, which appears in several department's budgets and has been retroactively added to 2024 appropriations data as well, was not used in the previous year's budget at the time of its passage. BGA Policy has reached out to the Office of Budget and Management for clarification of this appropriation's purpose and has not yet received a reply.

Change from Previous Year

The most substantial change in OEMC appropriations from the previous year is a -$15 million drop in outside contracting through the professional and technical services appropriation account, down -68.4% from the previous year.

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