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Aldermen question postage process as city pushes bulk mailings through Multigraph
Summary
Committee members pressed staff for clarity after budget cuts reduced the Board’s Multigraph and postage funding; staff said prior allocations existed but many offices did not use them, and the budget line was trimmed.
Personnel committee members spent a sustained portion of the meeting pressing staff for clarity on postage, printing and the city’s in‑house Multigraph print shop after several aldermen reported unexpected limits when attempting mailings.
Director Angracia told the committee Tracy Billups, the board administrative assistant, reported the board “is running out of stamps.” Angracia said Multigraph offers a lower metered-mail rate and that the Board had previously shifted postage and printing funds into an internal services line item so aldermen could use Multigraph for bulk mailings. “The board is running out of stamps,” Director Angracia said.
Members raised several operational questions: whether individual stamp accounts still exist (staff said they do not), whether unused allocations roll over between fiscal years (staff said no), and whether buying an on‑site postage meter might be an option for occasional, small mailings. Alderman Keyes and others described relying on banked stamps for one‑off mailings and said 200 stamps—formerly provided—were no longer being distributed.
Staff supplied historical figures drawn from prior communications: for fiscal year 2024, each alderperson had $7,600 allocated for metered mail through Multigraph and $1,300 for printing outside the Board’s central budget. The personnel office said the Board previously budgeted about $114,000 for the print/mail program in earlier years but that little of that funding was spent; staff estimated the Board’s office used roughly $10,000–$11,000 in prior years, and Paul Payne reduced the allocation by $75,000 for the new fiscal year because the funds were underutilized.
Aldermen said they had not always been aware of the process to access Multigraph funds and requested clearer communications and follow-up from Tracy and staff. Several members urged leadership to press the budget director during the upcoming budget cycle to restore or protect a boardwide pool for wardwide mailings, rather than allowing unused internal balances to be swept.
Director Angracia said staff will follow up with Multigraph and Tracy Billups to clarify account balances, how additional printings can be funded from the Board’s internal account, and whether alternative vendors offer lower costs for items such as Good Neighbor Guides. She agreed to report back to the committee with more detailed usage numbers and options, including the possibility of procuring a postage meter for occasional small mailings.
Committee members did not take formal vote action on postage at the meeting but instructed staff to provide detailed accounting and to raise the matter with the budget director as budget season begins.
