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 Local cities are "cutting to the bone" and may need to start cutting
into their public safety departments, if the state of Illinois
doesn't pay what it owes to local governments, which also are
fighting against a proposed $300 million funding cut.
"We have already cut a lot of the amenities that bring families and
small businesses into a particular community because of the quality
of life, and it's a good place to live," Moline Mayor Don Welvaert
said during a Wednesday morning news conference attended by other
mayors from across Illinois.
Kelly Kraft, spokeswoman for the Governor's Office of Management and
Budget, said Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing payment delays, not cuts,
for the cities just so the state can catch up with its other bills.
Illinois' backlogged bills are expected to double to $8 billion by
the end of June, according to the comptroller's office.
And no one likes to have unpaid bills, said Ron Baiman, director of
budget and policy analysis for the Center for Tax and Budget
Accountability, a Chicago-based, nonpartisan, data-driven
organization that analyzes public policy and budget-related issues.
"If the state can't borrow to pay its unpaid bills, then it's going
to have to decide who to pay first, and local governments don't
necessarily come first on the list there," Baiman said.
Local governments are supposed to receive 10 percent in funding from
the state's income tax, which is the one of the largest revenue
generators for the state. And despite this past year's 67 percent
personal income tax hike, which was implemented in January, local
governments are not receiving additional funding.
"We didn't continue to get our 10 percent. We were dropped back to 6
(percent)," said Elburn Village President David Anderson. "We didn't
holler too loud, because basically most of us had already made that
decision (consciously) and made cuts."
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Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett said local governments are
generating revenue, but they are not getting their fair share back
from the state.
"We provide the income tax through our residents working; they get
90 percent, (and) we get 10 percent," Bennett said. "We provide the
motor fuel tax that helps the state build the roads, and we only get
a portion of that."
Welvaert, the Moline mayor, agreed.
"It's time for Springfield to wake up and understand that the
locally generated revenues are just that -- local revenues," he
said. "They do not belong to the state and the state of Illinois
representatives and senators to do with as they please."
Mike Houston, Springfield's newly elected mayor, said his residents
don't want to see local taxes increased to cover local shortfalls.
"They're telling us, 'Live within your means,'" he said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MARY J. CRISTOBAL]
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