Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2023 Budget
| 2023 Budgeted | 2024 Proposed | Net Change | Percent Change | |
| Appropriations | $332,094,168 | $279,843,675 | -$52,250,493 | -15.7% |
| Positions & FTEs | 112 | 118 | 6 | 5.4% |
Departmental Highlights
- The Department of Housing’s proposed budget is down significantly from the previous year, in large part due to the expiration of federal funding, including the Emergency Rental Assistance program.
- The home repair appropriation, which had previously been a Department of Finance appropriation, has been moved to the nondepartmental Finance General section of the budget and reduced from $17.4 million to $10 million.
- The largest appropriation in the Department of Housing 2024 budget proposal is $163.3 million for rehabilitation loans and grants, making up about 58.3% of the department’s budget. The Department of Planning and Development budget appropriates an additional $139.4m for rehabilitation loans and grants.
- Another 27.3% of the department’s appropriations go to pass-through delegate agency spending, roughly $76.5 million.
- Overall Department of Housing headcount is up a net 6 positions. In addition to increases in existing titles, DoH added new city planner and senior policy analyst positions. The Supervising Rehabilitation Construction Specialist was the only title eliminated.
Historical Context
Rahm Emanuel replaced the then-Department of Housing with the Department of Planning and Development in the 2014 budget, at a lower rate of funding than its predecessor. (Housing had $191.7m in appropriations in the 2013 budget; DPD began its existence in the 2014 budget with $153.8m.)
The Department of Housing returned to city budgets in the 2019 budget and resumed operating as an independent office under Lori Lightfoot’s administration, with $148.4m in appropriations in 2019 and $198.9 the following year.
Housing then saw significant budget increases in the pandemic-era budgets, more than doubling its appropriation, predominantly from Emergency Rental Assistance funding. The end of ERA funds and a shift of the Home Repair Program from the department budget to the Finance General budget significantly reduced DoH’s overall appropriations in the proposed 2024 budget.
Staffing
Overall Department of Housing headcount is up a net 6 positions. In addition to increases in existing titles, DoH added new city planner and senior policy analyst positions. The Supervising Rehabilitation Construction Specialist was the only title eliminated.
Appropriations
Largest Appropriations
In the previous pandemic-era budgets the Department of Housing had significant Emergency Rental Assistance appropriations. With the end of that program, the largest appropriation in the Department of Housing 2024 budget proposal is $163.3 million for rehabilitation loans and grants, making up about 58.3% of the department’s budget.
Another 27.3% of the department’s appropriations go to pass-through delegate agency spending, roughly $76.5 million.
Change from Previous Year
A $24.9 million increase in delegate agency spending is the largest increase in DoH appropriations in the 2024 proposed budget. Rehabilitation loans and grants are also up significantly, about $12.8 million from the previous year.
A number of DoH appropriations were eliminated, including the Emergency Rental Assistance program, the heat receivership program, and a $10m contribution to the city’s Low Income Housing Trust Fund.
The city’s home repair program appropriation was also moved from the Department of Housing budget to the nondepartmental Finance General section of the budget, and was reduced from $17.4 million to $10 million.
