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County must not eat its seed corn

For the past several meetings of the Fayette County Board, Chairman Steve Knebel has pleaded with county department heads to trim their budgets.
He’s warned them of the dire financial straits the county is in. He’s told him that layoffs will be necessary if significant cuts aren’t made. And he’s cautioned them against continued dependence on the county’s capital improvement fund to cover operating expenses.
It’s time for action. If not, we'll continue to eat our seed corn.
At last week’s meeting, Knebel told the board that the county is facing a $640,000 deficit in the current year’s budget. The county finds itself in that deficit situation primarily because of shrinking state funding – a situation that’s being felt by counties, municipalities and schools throughout Illinois.
In recent years, when the county’s funds came up short, the answer has been to dip into the capital improvement fund. That pot of money, which came from the sale of the county’s coal rights in 2007, started out at $5.5 million. However, it has been tapped in recent years when revenues were needed, and now stands at $3.2 million.
That fund was intended to be set aside for capital projects – specifically, the construction of a new jail. But it has proved to be too tempting to resist using for operating budget shortfalls.
Knebel is right when he says that the fund will soon be depleted if the pattern continues. Then the county will be faced with borrowing money when a construction project is needed or mandated. And it will be operating without a safety net.
The city of Vandalia has made significant cuts to live within its means – not filling open positions, not doing unnecessary projects, not giving raises, requiring furlough days and cutting expenses across the board.
It’s time that the county takes similar actions. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s necessary. Raiding the capital fund is not the answer.
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