A non-partisan government watchdog group is opposing Chicago’s 2011 fiscal year budget. The Civic Federation says it won’t support the nearly $6.2 billion dollar budget because it doesn’t address the city’s structural deficit effectively.

Laurence Msall is the group’s president. “The future financial strength of the city is at risk if we don’t start changing the way the city delivers services and reduce the city’s operating cost to more match up with our recurring revenues for the city,” Msall said.

Msall says the city needs to reform pension funds. He also says Chicago should rely less on short term revenue funds like Daley’s highly controversial privatization deal of the city’s parking meters.