Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski speaks at a press conference at City Hall on March 18, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

At a committee hearing Tuesday, city finance officials defended the city’s debt load and painted the city’s credit position as stronger than recent ratings agency actions would indicate, while alderpeople also heard from an outside finance analyst who warned about the city continuing to rely on debt to finance projects.

But the hearing deviated multiple times into relitigation of the 2025 budget, including arguments about what should have happened and how much of the blame should be shouldered by the City Council.