Finance General – BGA Policy 2027 Budget Snapshot

The finance general category is a budgetary catch-all for non-departmental spending. There is no dedicated budget hearing devoted specifically to finance general appropriations, although in recent years it has made up close to half of the city budget.

This snapshot has been provided for the first day of budget hearings, when the Budget Director and OBM staff will be present for a budget overview, offering the best opportunity for alderpersons to ask questions relating to finance general appropriations.

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Departmental Highlights

• The majority of Finance General appropriations go towards pension and borrowing costs. All told, pension costs and interest and payments on bonds and loans make up more than 70% of all Finance General appropriations.
  
• The largest single-appropriation increases in the 2027 proposed Finance General appropriations include an additional $177.3 million (24.4%) in bond payments and an additional $88.1 million (8.7%) in bond interest costs, as well as increased supplemental payments for the municipal employee, firefighter, and police annuity funds.
  
• Outside contracting through the professional and technical services appropriation declined -$96.7 million, and a $10.4 million appropriation for central library property maintenance was eliminated entirely from Finance General.

Historical Context

Finance General is the section of the budget used for citywide or non-departmental expenses. In the city's budget practices, this includes pension and benefit costs for nongrant employees, which are not broken out by department or individual position, but are instead treated as lump-sum appropriation accounts within finance general. (This year's BGA Policy snapshots include an estimated calculation of fringe costs for each department; for more information see our fringe costs supplemental article.)

From 2011-2026, Finance General appropriations grew at an average rate of 7.4% annually, or 5.1% adjusted for inflation through 2025, compared to a citywide average rate of 5.5% (inflation-adjusted 3.2%). The current proposal would increase the department's appropriations by 4.2% from the previous year, less than the overall city budget increase of 5.1%.

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Over the past four complete budget years for which local fund actuals/encumbrances data is available, the city spent on average 80.2% of its locally funded Finance General budget, compared to the citywide average 86.6% local fund spend.

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Appropriations

Finance General appropriations are entirely locally-funded in this year's budget proposal, as in the previous year. The non-departmental budget section draws from a wide range of funds, with the general purpose Corporate Fund making up the largest share at 26.3% of finance general's funding.

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Largest Appropriations

The majority of Finance General appropriations go towards pension and debt costs. Employee annuity and benefit payments are by far the largest Finance General appropriation, making up 30.1% of the nondepartmental spending category. Interest on bonds and payments on bonds account for another 12.9% and 10.6% respectively. All told, pension and bond/loan interest and payments make up more than 70% of all Finance General appropriations.

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In 2025, the most recent complete budget year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, the city spent 78.4%% of its locally-funded Finance General budget.

Because of inconsistencies between Office of Budget and Management and Department of Finance data, a direct budget-to-actuals comparison is not possible for every individual Finance General appropriation in the 2026 budget. Actual spend from the largest appropriations are displayed below.

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Change from Previous Year

The largest single-appropriation increases in the 2027 proposed Finance General appropriations include an additional $177.3 million (24.4%) in bond payments and an additional $88.1 million (8.7%) in bond interest costs, as well as increased supplemental payments for the municipal employee, firefighter, and police annuity funds.

Scheduled wage adjustments saw the largest year-over-year decrease among Finance General appropriations, down -$243.3 million (-86%). The previous year saw a dramatic increase driven by retroactive payments for firefighter contracts. Outside contracting through the professional and technical services appropriation declined -$96.7 million, and a $10.4 million appropriation for central library property maintenance was eliminated entirely from Finance General.

[budget-graphic id="appropriation-changes"]

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