Solution needed for budget crisis
Unless you’ve been locked away in a cage in recent months, you’ve noticed that virtually every government entity has begun initiating significant budget cuts.
In this week’s issue alone, we have stories about the city of Vandalia approving furlough days for all of its full-time employees and the Vandalia School District cutting staff and programs.
There’s also the story about the Fayette County Board, with considerable hesitation, approving pay increases for the four county officers being elected this November. The board acknowledged its comprehension of the economy and its need to transfer funds at that same meeting in order to meet payroll, but also the need to keep the salary schedules for those officers in line with all other county employees.
These stories are no different than those in other cities and counties.
Jasper County officials have closed their jail and are looking at reducing or eliminating the patrols of county deputies. Mattoon recently laid off five police officers. The Taylorville School District recently laid off several non-certified employees.
What’s the common thread with all of these cuts? Of course, the state’s failure to meet its obligations.
It wasn’t that long ago that Rod Blagojevich proudly championed new programs to make many services available to all people. Now, when Blagojevich appears on various TV shows while awaiting trial on corruption charges, the funding for those new programs is among the factors that have put the state in a position that it now cannot pay cities, counties, school districts, etc., the money it owes them.
In many cases, the state has not paid entities money owed to them since last fall. Thus, those who have worked to build up reserves are now having to spend those reserves; and those whose coffers were just sufficient to maintain the status quo are faced with considering such actions as loans and bond issues.
Nearly all levels of government are having to make cuts that reduce the services available to us, services that we expect to receive when we pay our fair share.
Thus, our governor and legislators must all come to the table to resolve our state’s financial crisis. A solution won’t be easy, and the pain will be widespread. But measures must be taken.
Those who have opposed the addition of programs and the added burden on the state have contended that those actions are jeopardizing our future. In reality, the future is now.
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