As of the end of February, the state of Illinois is delinquent in more than $685,000 in payments that fund such Kane County programs as child-support collection and local health protection, as well as the salary of the Kane County engineer.

And the total could reach more than $1.1 million by the end of the fiscal year, if the state budget impasse continues.

According to a report by Kane County Finance Director Joe Onzick at the Wednesday (March 30, 2016) Finance and Budget Committee meeting, three Kane County revenue streams have been impacted by delinquent state of Illinois payments.

Child Support Collection

The first involves the reimbursement to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office’s Child Support Division. According to state statute, every state’s attorney in Illinois is to collect all debts involving child support.

The state typically pays the county on a monthly basis, but no payment has been received since August 2015 for expenses incurred in June of that year.

The outstanding receivable balance for the program was $436,968 as of Feb. 29, 2016, and the delinquency has the potential to grow to $700,000 by the end of Fiscal Year 2016, Onzick’s report said.

An emergency line of credit not to exceed $310,000 was extended from the county’s General Fund to the Title IV Fund in accordance with the emergency purchase provision of the Procurement Ordinance, Onzick said in an executive summary in the committee report. The emergency line of credit now needs to be ratified by the County Board.

The state delinquency is compounded because there are federal matching funds associated with the Title IV program, and the State’s Attorney’s Office can’t collect the federal funding until the state pays its share.

Health Department Funding

The state makes one payment per year to the Kane County Health Department for local health protection. The last payment received from the state was in December 2014 to cover a period from July 30, 2014, to June 15, 2015. No payment has been received to cover the period form July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.

The outstanding balance was $179,034 at the end of February. The annual budget calls for $348,470 in state funding.

Engineer’s Salary

The state also pays for the county engineer’s salary. In Kane County that adds up to $69,160 a year. The last payment received with in October 2014.

You can read the full reports in the March 30, 2016, Kane County Finance and Budget Committee agenda packet.

SOURCE: Kane County Finance and Budget Committee agenda packet