Latest news with #budgetshortfall
CBS News
5 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Outgoing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez speaks out as he prepares to leave office
Outgoing Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez held nothing back Monday, speaking at a City Club of Chicago event, where he opened up about his opposition to taking out a loan to help cover a budget shortfall, which he said cost him his job. "You show your work. Does the evidence show that we're going in the right direction? Absolutely," Martinez said. "And by the way, in spite of, not because of, in spite of not having people not having our backs. Can you imagine if we would have people watching our backs, the work we could've done?" Martinez also criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union, claiming they wanted to throw the school district into financial distress, then demand a bailout. Martinez has said he declined a request from the mayor to resign in September, after he refused Johnson's request to have CPS take out a $300 million high-interest loan to pay for the costs of a new proposed teachers' contract and pension costs previously covered by the city. The school board voted to fire Martinez in December, but because he was fired without cause, he was allowed to stay until the end of the school year. His last day on the job is Wednesday. He's set to become commissioner of elementary and secondary education in Massachusetts on July 1.
CBS News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Minneapolis schools lay off 400 people, St. Paul cutting budget to curb shortfalls
Minnesota man charged in string of ATM burglaries, and more headlines Minnesota man charged in string of ATM burglaries, and more headlines Minnesota man charged in string of ATM burglaries, and more headlines The Minneapolis school district says it's laying off 400 full-time employees, including approximately 116 teachers, as it deals with a $75 million shortfall. In a statement on Friday, Minneapolis Public Schools said most reductions made were from "central office or departments," and that it's still going through data from the 2025-2026 budget, which was approved on Tuesday. The district cited increasing costs in utilities, salaries, benefits and transportation, and a decline in state funding as reasons for the deficit. Minneapolis voters passed a $20 million technology levy in the November 2024 election to address the shortfall. The impact on Minneapolis homeowners is around $2 per month for someone with a $100,000 house. The approved budget did not "completely" eliminate any student programs, and prioritized low class sizes, according to the district. WCCO has reached out to the Minneapolis Federation of Educators, the union representing teachers in the district, for comment. St. Paul Schools facing $51.5 million shortfall; considering referendum St. Paul Public Schools, which also approved its budget on Tuesday, said it's facing a $51.5 million deficit. The district says it plans to use $35.5 million in reserve funds and a combination of "budget cuts and new revenue" to cover the other $15.6 million. It's unknown if any layoffs are involved in the budget cuts. Superintendent Dr. Stacie Stanley said in a written statement that using money from the reserve fund is a one-year solution, and that the district is considering a referendum for St. Paul residents to vote on in November.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Met Police funding fears: Warning half of buildings could close
A large section of the ceiling is missing in one of the women's bathrooms at Shoreditch police station. Some of it is now sitting in a crate on the floor."We had a leak from the toilet system on the floor above," explains David Mathieson, the Metropolitan Police's director of real estate development, pointing out how the sewage water has seeped into the carpet next to the lockers."The systems are just so old, we keep patch repairing them, but they need to be ripped out and replaced."He's showing us around the station to illustrate the problems, after Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned the Met faces having to close buildings and lose 1,700 officers and staff due to a £260m budget shortfall. 'Austerity scar tissue' In a report presented to the London Policing Board last month, Sir Mark said that, unless the Met received more money in the government's Spending Review on Wednesday, London could experience "sustained increases" in knife crime, violence against women and girls, and warned this meant the government's key pledges to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls in a decade, and to boost neighbourhood policing, were also at Mark added that the Met would be forced to close up to half of its buildings over the next decade "due to them being no longer habitable or legally compliant".In November, the commissioner warned the Met faced "eye-watering cuts" to services and a £450m funding gap, although he's since acknowledged that extra funding from the Home Office and City Hall means its final settlement is "nearly £100m better" than last week, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that police forces across the country were carrying the "scar tissue of years of austerity cuts" and said they needed more money to meet government ambitions on policing. The government has promised thousands of neighbourhood police officers and nearly 400 police community support officers will be recruited for forces in England and Wales over the next 12 months, as part of the target to hit 13,000 by London has asked repeatedly for an interview with Sir Mark ahead of the Spending Review and has approached the Home Office for comment."You'd normally refurbish a building every 25 years," Mr Mathieson tells me. "Our budget is now once every 125 years."The Met says it's already shrunk from 620 buildings in 2010 down to 260, in order to find money for front-line police station closed to the public in 2017, when London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said government cuts meant he had no choice but to make although the shutters are down, the building is still operational, as a base for the Hackney Safer Neighbourhood team and as a training facility for officers learning to use Tasers. Mr Mathieson takes us on a grim tour, pointing out how the sewage leak has gone right through the building, into the instructors' lockers on the lower floors - now replaced by a red bucket - the missing ceiling panels along the corridor, and the single boiler providing heat and hot water."We should have two but we didn't have the budget," he tells us, adding that the building will have to close completely if the boiler tells me that four defunct boilers - which he thinks date back to the 1960s when the station was built - have been kept so they can "cannibalise them for parts around the other bits of the estates".The upstairs women's bathroom, which was flooded in March, remains out of order, with parts of the ceiling taken down simply to make the building across the corridor, on the back of the locker-room door, is a poster encouraging officers to "take pride in your workplace". In April, the Met detailed a list of savings it would need to make in order to protect front-line services such as neighbourhood policing and public protection teams, which tackle sex offences and domestic plans include scrapping the Royal Parks Police and Safer Schools officers, along with cuts to forensics and mounted police and potentially taking firearms off the Flying commissioner has said he wants the force to grow in size to 38,000 officers and 19,000 civilian staff, but said the Met was expected to have just 31,248 officers and 10,972 staff by the end of the predicts the force will lose about 1,700 officers, PCSOs and staff, but that additional funding may allow the force to reduce the losses by speeding up recruitment. 'It's really cold in the winter' In the face of protecting front-line services, it might make sense that refurbishing buildings is less of a priority, but Mr Mathieson tells me it's clear that it's having a terrible impact on officer morale. "The quality of the space you live and work in is absolutely intrinsic to your sense of self worth... your sense of being valued," he opens another door, revealing a locker room with peeling paint and stained flooring."Imagine this is your first day as a Met officer, and you're being asked to get changed in here." Insp Ryan Rose, who works on Taser training, agrees, telling me that thousands of students pass through the base and often comment on the poor conditions. We watch as some trainees line up in front of us on the indoor target range, and an instructor tells the group to "listen, react, engage," before they fire."One of the core principles of Taser training is we try and instil professionalism in how you handle the weapon," Insp Rose explains, "and we are doing that in a very non-professional environment."It's really cold in the winter, it's really hot in the summer."He says the students are currently having to go to another part of the building to find working toilets, which is disruptive."It slows down the training... leaks on the range and leaks in the toilets... sometimes we need to shut down training." "The perfect thing to do with this building is to completely gut it and start again," says Mr Mathieson. "It needs a complete, thorough refurbishment, but that will probably cost £30m, and that means we can't spend £30m on any of the 259 other buildings in the rest of the estate."I'm always having to judge where are the biggest, most critical problems and put the funding into those." Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that police forces are being given £1 billion extra funding this year, and said other public services were struggling "because of the inheritance that we had as a country and as a government." "We expect the police to start embracing the change they need to do, to do their bit for change as well. We are doing our bit," he said. A spokesperson for the mayor of London said the previous Conservative government had "chronically underfunded the Met"."Sadiq has done everything in his power to support the police and recently announced record £1.16bn investment for the Met to protect neighbourhood policing in our communities, secure 935 front-line police officer posts and significantly reduce the level of cuts the Met had been planning."
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
With mass transit funding deal still up in the air in Springfield, CTA, Metra and Pace begin planning for possible cuts
CTA, Metra, and Pace officials are preparing "doomsday budgets" after Illinois state lawmakers didn't address the Chicago area mass transit system's massive budget shortfall during the spring legislative session. With federal COVID-19 funding expiring at the end of the year, the transit agencies are facing a $770 million dollar shortfall in 2026. Without new funding from the state, the agencies have warned of service cuts of up to 40%. The Illinois Senate passed legislation that would impose a $1.50 tax on deliveries like Amazon, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, a 10% tax on rideshare trips, and add a new tax to charge electric vehicles to fund mass transit, but the Illinois House didn't take it up before adjourning their spring session. Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) said that's due to how late in the last day of session the Senate passed the bill, but he said there's time to get a deal done this year. "CTA, Metra, Pace – they approve their budgets at the end of the year in December. They have not a July fiscal date like we do here in the state, but they have a January fiscal date. We've spent the last year or so talking about structural changes and governance reforms, and we've got that part right. And so, now, we can spend the next couple of weeks and months figuring out how we deal with the revenue piece. So when we come back to Springfield, whenever that may be, we'll be ready to go," Buckner said. While lawmakers could return to Springfield this summer or during their fall veto session to address mass transit funding, any laws passed after the end of May will need a three-fifths majority in both chambers to take effect before June 2026, making it more of a challenge to get the necessary votes to approve any potential deal.
BreakingNews.ie
28-05-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Northern Ireland's health service facing projected £600m budget shortfall
Northern Ireland's health service is expected to face a £600 million (€715 million) budget shortfall. Stormont Health Minister Mike Nesbitt described financial plans being finalised which will be 'unprecedented in their scale and ambition' and involve 'extremely difficult and painful savings measures'. Advertisement In a written statement to the Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Nesbitt said the projected £600 million is the 'scale of the gap between existing funding and what's needed to maintain services'. Northern Ireland's health service is facing a budget shortfall (Liam McBurney/PA) He told MLAs he will play his part and 'do everything I can to achieve a breakeven budget', but also urged the Executive and the Assembly to support him. 'My permanent secretary is finalising financial plans that will be unprecedented in their scale and ambition,' he said. 'They will involve an extremely difficult and indeed painful series of savings measures for HSC trusts. Advertisement 'I can assure the Assembly that I will drive forward savings to reduce the projected shortfall.' 'To repeat, I will play my part and do everything I can to achieve a breakeven budget. 'But I will need Executive and Assembly support.' Mr Nesbitt also confirmed he is ordering the paying of £200 million (€238 million) recommended pay increases despite not having the budget to cover it. Advertisement It includes 3.6 per cent for nurses and staff under Agenda for Change, 4 per cent for doctors, and 4 per cent plus £750 (€893) for resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors. That requires a ministerial directive to be made to the department's permanent secretary to proceed despite not having the necessary budget. It will go to the Finance Minister, John O'Dowd, and potentially be passed to the Executive for approval. Mr Nesbitt told MLAs the move involves the risk of an overspend for the department, but that not paying the pay increases also involves risks. Advertisement 'There is an undeniable risk that the department could be on a path towards a potential overspend,' he said. 'I have also concluded that there are also substantial risks in not proceeding with the pay increases – the biggest risk is failing to deliver on my promise to deliver 'better outcomes'. 'I do not want health service staff to be demoralised by inaction and another year of uncertainty on pay. They deserve better than that. This is about treating with respect the people who keep us healthy, fix us when we are broken and keep us alive when death becomes a potential outcome. 'Falling behind pay levels across the water will also exacerbate challenges with recruitment and retention of health service staff.' Advertisement He added that pay parity with England for Agenda for Change staff is a 'well-established and hard-fought principle' that he intends to maintain. 'Failure to do so would undoubtedly lead to industrial action with all the disruption to patient care that will involve,' he said. 'Not to mention the negative impact on the focus to reduce waiting lists, or the overdue need to reform healthcare delivery. 'In short, the risk of a potential budget overspend must be balanced against the significant risk to service provision.' Mike Farrar, permanent secretary of the Department of Health in Northern Ireland at the department headquarters in Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, east Belfast. (Rebecca Black/PA) Permanent secretary Mike Farrar said finding the £200 million for the pay award is a challenge. 'I have got a statutory duty as the accounting officer to point out to the minister that we don't have that in the budget which is what I've done,' he said. Mr Farrar said he is talking to colleagues from the Department of Finance, and expects the Executive to be involved. 'I'm hoping that if they can see how hard we're working to get our efficiencies, and that this plan that we're putting forward to reset the health and social care system is going to lead to a sustainable financial position, I'm hoping that they will somehow find the wherewithal to help me in the short term,' he added.
