City Budget Highlights.

I found this on the Chicago Sun Times web site. I found it interesting. My thoughts are italicized.

Highlights from Chicago's 2009 city budget

November 20, 2008

• 635 city employees laid off — possibly dozens less, depending on how many take cash incentives to retire.
• More than 1,600 vacant jobs eliminated.
  
• Six partial shutdown days around the holidays.
• Slow police hiring to 200 in 2009, saving $10 million.
• Because we definitely don't need more cops. We like being the Murder Capitol of the nation.
  
• Raise amusement tax to 5 percent on live theatrical, musical and cultural performances in venues seating more than 750 seats and 9 percent for sporting events, concerts and movies.
• Extend amusement tax to include 135,000 Chicagoans who get their cable TV by installing a satellite dish.
  
• Obviously Chicago owns the air and space that is directly above us. This is ridiculous.
  
• Increase parking tax — from $2.25 per car to $3 — on motorists who pay more than $12 to park.
• Lower Denver boot threshold from three unpaid tickets to two older than one year.
• Six-week amnesty for 3.5 million overdue parking and red-light tickets Dec. 1 to Feb.14.
• Basically only good for any tickets before Jan 1st, 2007. If you got it in 2008 you don't get any type of help.
  
• Blues and Jazz fests reduced from four days to three with fewer stages at each.
• Must not be making much money off the show.
  
• Double daily library fines from 10 to 20 cents.
• Raise ambulance fees from $325 and $8 a mile to $600 and $13 a mile for basic life support and from $400 and $8 a mile to $700 and $13 a mile for advanced life support. Nonresidents will pay $100 on top of that.
• Nonresidents should know better than to get injured or sick while visiting this city. Because your less of a person than those that live here.
  
• Raise residential permit parking guest passes from $10 to $16 for a book of 30.
• This makes sense to me.. strange.
  
• Increase the public vehicle license fee paid by limosuines and charter buses from $100 to $200 to $500 for everybody.
• Raise $9 million by requiring businesses and residential high-rises to purchase annual licenses for their garbage containers at a cost of $80 to $780.
• Cut $1.7 million city subsidy for free trolley rides.
• There's free trolley rides here? Wow.. I don't get out much.
  
• Privatize 35,000 parking meters by year’s end and apply $150 million to shortfalls this year and next. If it doesn’t work, more layoffs and tax hikes needed.
• Yes!! Privatize them so the company that gets the contract can make even more money than the city did! Brilliant!!
  
• Establish five-year, $100 million annuity with discretionary proceeds from the Midway Airport lease and spend $20 million a year through 2012.
• Save $5 million by consolidating city departments that handle consumer issues, human services, economic development and business affairs.
• Install red-light cameras at 50 more intersections.
• 50? Why not every 6 corner intersection and every intersection crossing a highway. Might as well make the most out of them. Will they catch bicyclists that don't stop as well?
  
• Raise $2 million by seeking sponsorships for city assets and events, beginning with a new agreement to provide beverage and vending services and city-owned facilities.
• Eliminate Fire Department Segway patrols in the Loop.
• There was a need for this to begin with?
  
• Raise daily and annual fees for merchants at Maxwell Street market to save popular Jumping Jack program for neighborhood festivals.
• Uh.. the Jumping Jack program is idiotic. What service does it really serve that the neighborhood organizers couldn't find in some other form?