Feb 11, 2009 9:53 pm US/Central
How Chicago Spends $300,000 On A Christmas Tree
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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The Christmas tree in Daley Plaza cost $300,000 to put up and take down.
CBS
We've all been cutting back during these tough financial times. And so has the city in the face of a $50 million budget deficit. That's why we watched in amazement as city workers put up that giant Christmas tree in Daley Plaza behind the CBS 2 studios last November - just as it has every other year. CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman decided to check out the cost and whether the city needs to trim the tree budget.
There's no question the city's tree in Daley Plaza was an impressive centerpiece for Christmas.
"It was just magnificent," said Debra Kuehl. "It was beautiful."
So how much did all this cost the taxpayers? We asked the city for some hard numbers on what it paid for manpower and equipment to put the tree up and take it down.
CBS 2 asked some Chicagoans to guess how much it cost.
"I'm gonna say between $10,000 and $15,000," said Andre Thomas.
"$30,000?" said Chris Lawler. "$100,000?"
Not even close.
Consider this. For about six weeks, city workers built a giant steel and wood frame, hoisted trees into place and then decorated the 85-foot high extravaganza. Then they took it all down. The total cost? About $300,000.
"This is an outrage," Thomas said. "It's an outrage."
It is a year's worth of property taxes paid by 100 average homeowners.
"There's far more better things you could have done with $300,000 than to put up a Christmas tree that lasted a month," Thomas said.
Like fund two shelters for the homeless; or pay four police officers salaries for a year. It could cover the cost of 100 snow plows for a day, or 88 asphalt crews could each fill around 300 potholes.
Underwriters Laboratories did pay $55,000 for the tree's energy-saving lights. And the menorah, nativity scene and Christkindlmarket are all privately funded.
We don't want to play the role of Grinch in this Christmas story. So we looked into ways to trim the tree budget.
In New York, there is no publicly funded tree. The Rockefeller Center tree is completely paid for by private funds.
The Mayor's Office of Special Events says they don't seek sponsorship because they don't want to commercialize Christmas.
Well then - instead of buying 113 trees for $45,500, the same vendor could supply the city with one 45-foot tree for $2,800.
That would also cut other expenses to decorate the taller tree - including equipment rental costs of more than $17,000.
"Great idea. Need to start doing things like that. Cut corners. Too much waste," said Gail Driscoll.
In Washington, D.C. outside the White House, a tree planted years ago is decorated for Christmas.
A specialist in transplanting large trees said we could do the same thing right here in Daley Plaza for a one-time cost of about $25,000. That would pay for a 40-foot tree. It would grow with time. And we could enjoy it for all seasons - especially Christmas.
Now a spokeswoman for the mayor says he's asked staff to come up with ways to cut these costs next year.
Let us know if you've seen other examples of wasteful government spending - or if you have any investigative tip,
click here, and we'll check it out.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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