Table of contents
Departmental Highlights
Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2025 Budget
| 2025 Budgeted | 2026 Proposed | Net Change | Percent Change | Annual Rate of Change, 2012-2019* | Inflation-adjusted Rate of Change (2011-2024) | |
| Appropriations | $557,363,694 | $500,103,234 | -$57,260,460 | -10.3% | 3.7% | 18.3% |
| Positions & FTEs | 1042 | 1031 | -11 | -1.1% | 0.1% | NA |
*Historical comparisons are typically done from 2011-2025. For 2FM, the period 2012-2019 has been used, during which the version of 2FM most closely resembling the current department’s scope and responsibilities existed.
- 2FM’s standalone appropriations declined only slightly following the 2024 decoupling (when AIS was split back into 2FM and DOTI). The proposed $500.1 million budget for 2026 is higher than the $487.8 million average budget of the merged AIS department from 2020-2024.
- The department’s vehicles budget has been almost completely eliminated, dropping -$7.3 million to $550,000 (-93%). However, this year’s budget adds a new $1.7 million Vehicle Tracking Service appropriation.
- Budgeted funds for office and building services are also down substantially, -$12.7 million (-33.2%), as are the department’s various repair and maintenance appropriations:
- REPAIR/MAINT EQUIPMENT, down -$4,169,700 (-36.8%)
- REPAIR/MAINT PROPERTY, down -$3,500,000 (-45.8%)
- MAINT FACILITIES, down -$600,000 (-22.9%)
- REPAIR PARTS AND MATERIAL, down -$334,305 (-0.9%)
- 2FM’s overall net decline of 11 budgeted positions in this year’s proposal is driven primarily by the elimination of seven Environmental Engineer positions (-70% change from the previous year) and four Watchman positions (-22.2%). The department is adding a second Assistant Commissioner position, in addition to other small single-position changes in staffing.
Historical Context
The Department of Fleet & Facility Management, which is varyingly acronymized as both 2FM and FFM in city documentation, was created in Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first budget by the merger of the Department of Fleet Management with most of the responsibilities of the Department of General Services.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2020 budget created a new Department of Assets, Information and Services by combining the existing Department of Innovation and Technology (DOIT) and Department of Fleet and Facility Management (2FM). A 2022 BGA Policy analysis showed preliminary budgetary efficiencies and savings in appropriations budgeted for AIS compared to the two separate pre-merger departments.
Mayor Johnson undid the merger in his first budget, returning to a standalone information department (now DOTI rather than DOIT) and a separate 2FM in 2024.
The historical overview charts in this snapshot include data from the Department of Fleet Services in the 2011 budget, the combined 2FM in the 2012-2019 budgets, and the combined AIS in the 2020-2023 budgets.
During the 2012-2019 period after the Fleet/General Services merger but before the addition of IT, the department’s appropriations grew at an average annual rate of 3.7%, or 2.3% adjusted for inflation, compared to a citywide rate for the same period of 4.6% (inflation-adjusted 3.1%).
The department’s appropriations then increased substantially following the merger with DOIT and transition to AIS. 2FM’s standalone appropriations declined only slightly following the 2024 decoupling, and rose again in 2025 to roughly the same level as its highest merged appropriations. The proposed $500.1 million budget for 2026 is higher than the $487.8 million average budget of the merged AIS department from 2020-2024.
2026’s budget proposes a -10.3% cut in 2FM’s appropriations, compared to a citywide decline of -2.6%.
Over the past three complete budget years for which local fund actuals/encumbrances data is available, 2FM spent on average 92.9% of its locally funded budget, compared to the citywide average 86.4% local fund spend.
During the 2012-2019 period, 2FM’s total headcount increased by an average rate of 0.1% annually, compared to a citywide average of 1.2%. Headcount dropped with the de-merger from DOTI in 2024 and has remained relatively consistent with slight declines since.
From February through September of 2025, the months for which the city released full-time position vacancy data, 2FM averaged a 11.2% vacancy rate, the same as the citywide average of 11.2%.
69 of the department’s budgeted full-time positions were persistent vacancies, meaning that the same title/division/section/subsection combination was vacant for all eight months of available data.
Staffing
2FM’s overall net decline of 11 budgeted positions is driven primarily by the elimination of seven Environmental Engineer positions (-70% change from the previous year) and four Watchman positions (-22.2%). The department is adding a second Assistant Commissioner position, in addition to other small single-position changes in staffing.
Appropriations
2FM is 98.4% locally-funded in this year’s budget proposal, up from the previous year’s 90.7%. Nearly all of the department’s grant funding has been eliminated in the 2026 proposal.
Corporate fund appropriations make up slightly more than half of 2FM’s budget, with the rest covered by smaller amounts from a broad range of local funds. The department also has $7.9 million in federal grant appropriations.
| Fund | 2025 Budgeted | 2026 Proposed | Net Change from 2024 | Percent Change from 2025 | Percent of 2026 Funding |
| Corporate Fund | $279,266,414 | $275,129,198 | -$209,097,941 | -74.9% | 55.0% |
| Chicago O’Hare Airport Fund | $68,390,313 | $70,168,473 | -$20,852,313 | -30.5% | 14.0% |
| Water Fund | $47,693,015 | $47,538,000 | -$24,429,317 | -51.2% | 9.5% |
| Library Fund | $26,860,863 | $23,263,698 | -$4,590,955 | -17.1% | 4.7% |
| Motor Fuel Tax Fund | $22,269,908 | $22,269,908 | -$2,795,569 | -12.6% | 4.5% |
| Vehicle Tax Fund | $27,765,435 | $19,474,339 | -$12,367,565 | -44.5% | 3.9% |
| Chicago Midway Airport Fund | $14,860,721 | $15,397,870 | -$4,698,091 | -31.6% | 3.1% |
| Special Events and Municipal Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Fund | $9,802,884 | $10,162,630 | -$1,035,766 | -10.6% | 2.0% |
| Sewer Fund | $8,494,141 | $8,767,118 | -$562,141 | -6.6% | 1.8% |
| Federal Grant Fund | $51,319,000 | $7,932,000 | -$51,319,000 | -100.0% | 1.6% |
| Community Development Block Grant Year LI | $563,000 | $0 | -$563,000 | -100.0% | 0.0% |
| COVID-19 Grant Fund | $78,000 | $0 | -$78,000 | -100.0% | 0.0% |
Largest Appropriations
As with most departments, salaries and wages are 2FM’s largest expense category. The facilities department also spends substantially on electricity, repair parts and materials, natural gas, gasoline, and similar physical plant categories.
In the most recent year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, 2FM spent 92.8% of its locally budgeted appropriations. Because the appropriation categories used in the 2022-2024 actuals datasets from the Department of Finance do not correspond exactly to the appropriation accounts used in the budgets presented by the Office of Budget and Management, an exact line-by-line comparison of real spend to budget is not possible.
Change from Previous Year
This year’s budget adds a new $1.7 million Vehicle Tracking Service appropriation.
The department’s vehicles budget has been almost completely eliminated, dropping -$7.3 million to $550,000 (-93%). Budgeted funds for office and building services are also down substantially, -$12.7 million (-33.2%), as are the department’s various repair and maintenance appropriations:
- REPAIR/MAINT EQUIPMENT, down -$4,169,700 (-36.8%)
- REPAIR/MAINT PROPERTY, down -$3,500,000 (-45.8%)
- MAINT FACILITIES, down -$600,000 (-22.9%)
- REPAIR PARTS AND MATERIAL, down -$334,305 (-0.9%)
