State government is delinquent in paying pretty much everybody.
As we reach the 2010 Primary election, it will again be time for the state to tackle the budget, since they made no secret of putting it off until after the election, even when they were all but constitutionally mandated to do it by May of last year.
As delays mount on completing the state’s budget, many local institutions that rely on state funding are trying to figure out how to make ends meet when the money that is owed to them is consistently late.
In Macon County, institutions that serve large segments of the community are already laboring under budget shortfalls of their own as revenues stagnate and state lawmakers mandate higher contributions into retirement funds for civil servants and teachers.
The state owes the City of Decatur three months worth of income tax, to the tune of nearly $1.4 million.
“I guess the good news is that interest rates are so low we’re not missing out on a whole lot of investment income,” McCrady said.
“On the flip side, we’ve had to learn to be much more careful with our cash.
Based on what I hear from other cities, we’re not (being treated) any different.”
The state is also two quarters behind paying the city for maintenance and repairs the city has made to state-owned roadways in the area, about $60,000.
“We have several programs that are reimbursable through the state of Illinois, and right now most of these (late payments) run back to July and August of 2009,” said Macon County Treasurer Steve Grimm. “That’s how far behind they are.”
Grimm puts the state’s backlog at nearly $800,000 on payments ranging from six to eight months late. A large chunk of that is salaries and stipends that are partially reimbursed through the state.
Read the original article from Herald & Review.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services