Proposed funding cuts threaten municipalities

During his Fiscal Year 2016 budget address, Governor Rauner proposed a 50 percent cut in the Local Government Distributive Fund Revenues. These funds are shared income tax revenues, collected by the state and distributed to local municipalities.

The local municipalities then use these funds to provide essential services to their communities such as police and fire protection, parks, infrastructure, street and alley and snow removal.

This funding is essential for the municipalities to be able to operate and provide their citizens with the quality of life expected. Without these funds, most communities in the state would face severe difficulty in providing these services and would see a drastic reduction in services for their residents. The Daily Register spoke to area mayors about the expected impact on their cities if the cuts are passed.

"We will have to make some changes in the budget in preparation of the cuts passing," said Dale Fowler, Harrisburg mayor. "We have just begun thinking about what and where to cut and have not made any decisions yet, but there will be a general belt tightening for the city."

Harrisburg, the largest municipality in our county, would see a loss of $464,341 to the city budget. The Harrisburg city council this month passed a resolution urgently imploring the General Assembly to decide against Rauner's proposed cuts to the LGDF revenues. Harrisburg employees 50 to 53 full time workers and Fowler states that cuts to hours or even termination of positions are possible if the cuts go into effect. The city is currently formulating the FY 2016 budget and these cuts looms in the background, affecting all aspects of city services.

"We will have a balanced budget," Fowler said. "And the budget will not be increased. We also have to be able to have funding for the pensions of our workers. This is a difficult situation."

"It would be devastating for Eldorado," said Eldorado Mayor Rocky James. "We couldn't operate."

Eldorado would lose around $219,000 in revenue and this would severely impact the town's services. James said that at this time, the city has no plans for cuts in worker hours or layoffs.

"We keep a tight budget," James said. "We don't spend unless we have to. For now, we will just go on as we have done and deal with the cuts if they come. I don't know what the Governor is thinking of with these cuts."

"It would be a major blow to us," Galatia Mayor David Harrawood said. "We don't have any way to make that up."

Galatia employs four full time city workers: Two street and alley workers, a city clerk and one police officer and the proposed cuts could cripple city services.

"We are pretty sound financially right now, but if these cuts are passed we may be looking at cuts in workers hours or even layoffs," Harrawood said.

Carrier Mills stands to lose over $80,000, almost 18 percent of the village general fund revenue. The village currently employees six full time workers, four street and alley workers and two police officers, and Mayor Louis Shaw does not see very many options if the proposed cuts are enacted.

"We would take a big hit," Shaw said.

Shaw said the board is considering various solutions such as having a night time police patrol only and dropping daytime patrolling and possible cut to worker hours. Shaw added that there are no good solutions and there is absolutely no way the village could make up the loss in revenue.

The effect on city services in the would be wide ranging and severe, quite possibly resulting in the loss of jobs and perhaps even providing the incentive to area residents to relocate in another area.