Budget office prepares for the worst
Thursday, Jun 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a GOMB memo to state agencies…
confidential/policy formulation
This template should not be forwarded or shared with agency staff other than Director, Chief of Staff (or other comparable position), General Counsel, or Chief Financial Officer (i.e. this should only be shared with staff who may meet or discuss the contents of w/ GOMB). This is a confidential document.
Please fill out the attached template, adding pages as necessary, to provide information to GOMB on priority ‘red flag’ issues that may face your agency in event of a scenario where no FY18 appropriations have been enacted from any fund when the fiscal year begins (including no appropriations from other state funds or federal funds). In the template, please note to the extent these red flag issues may be addressed if state funds and federal funds outside of the general funds are appropriated.
Issues can be grouped into payment types (e.g. a grant program name, travel, utilities, rent, postage) and do not need to be listed by vendor name, although an explanation of current status and agreements with vendors for these categories will be useful for discussion. Please order the issues in order of expected priority or the agency and note the total annual cost of this service area and the estimated amount that will be unpaid as of the end of FY17. Your identification of issues should be focused on goods, services or providers that support the critical functions and operations of your agency and the agency’s highest priorities.
Looking ahead to FY18, note critical dates through the end of December for the vendors, and provide a brief discussion of the expected impact at these critical dates.
Red flag issues should also include any potential issues arising from payment delays in the general funds, even for programs covered by consent decrees and court orders. Please note that even if general funds appropriations are enacted for red flag items, general funds payment delays are expected to lengthen at the Comptroller’s office and are likely to be significant during the course of FY18 in the absence of a balanced budget.
Looks like they’re also preparing agencies for a partly funded stopgap approp.
The original can be seen here and here.
- Anon221 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:29 pm:
But, but, but…
Rauner, though, has said he will veto another stopgap budget if lawmakers send him one.
http://www.sj-r.com/news/20170615/rauner-calls-lawmakers-back-for-special-session
- Rocky Rosi - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:33 pm:
One word sad. The people of Illinois deserve better leadership.
- Movin - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:37 pm:
We’ve been considering moving to another state for the past two years. I’m starting to get more serious about it lately. What a dumpster fire of a state.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:38 pm:
Rich, you have GREAT sources. Should start calling you “the plumber” after all of the leaks you see.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:38 pm:
Because, as we’ve learned the last few years, planning for different scenarios ahead of time means that you intend for that scenario to happen./s
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:39 pm:
While the Superstars and Frat Boys fiddle… the actual pains of governing without a budget, or governing with a stopgap are realities beyond keeping Gov. Rauner out of political peril.
- illinois - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:44 pm:
=We’ve been considering moving to another state for the last two years.=
My wife and I have been working on that, but she recently postponed to next spring. I told her we might be too late, given the number of houses for sale in our town, as well as closed businesses. We live in a town which hosts a publicly funded university. Now a glut of student rentals are on the market, with some of them being auctioned off.
- Chucktownian - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:51 pm:
My last day at work in Illinois is in about two weeks. Gee I wonder why?
- Mad again - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:57 pm:
Yes good luck to all the pensioners who can move to Florida–enjoy all of our taxes.
- Movin - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:57 pm:
Chucktownian, I assume you’re in Charleston. I graduated from EIU. Charleston is going to be a wasteland as EIU is the only major employer there. I better go to Marty’s before it closes with the school.
- Waffle Fries - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 2:58 pm:
We really are just a special state.
- AC - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:00 pm:
Chucktownian - because your fellow, soon to be former, residents voted against their own community every chance they had? I like Charleston, I still hope for the best, and have a great deal of sympathy and empathy for individuals who were impacted. However, for the community as a whole, no sympathy , no empathy from me.
- KAY-ro - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:06 pm:
You can’t do all of these at the same time—> 1. Owe $137B in pension and > $200B in OPEB benefits 2. Have massive local gov administration (park districts with 12 employees managing two small parks) 3. Give out $5B in grants/contracts to non profits annually 4. Have high quality public education 5. Give everyone free high-quality health care 5. And keep residents and businesses in-state.
Pick which one’s you want/need, forecast the accurate cost, and move forward. No matter your party affiliation, or background, only one side is genuinely working towards changing the status quo. One side is working to protect the status quo.
We havent even begun talking about the cost of the deferred maintenace thst is needed accross the state: every roof needs to be replaced, every window, the computer systems, software, etc.. billions in needed upgrades. Deferred so that past republicans and democrats could keep taxes artificially low, and direct money to political cronies.
- Lance Mannion - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:32 pm:
Makes sense to prepare, especially for what seems inevitable. Madigan has no intention of cooperating & doesn’t care if he ruins the State.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:35 pm:
===Makes sense to prepare, especially for what seems inevitable. Madigan has no intention of cooperating & doesn’t care if he ruins the State.===
… and yet it was Bruce Rauner, according to Leader Radogno, that broke 2 Grand Bargains that coulda triangulated Madigan.
I hear your mouth breathing all the way in Oswego…
- Passive Agressive - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:38 pm:
Que the memo from Leader Durkin chastising the state agencies for leaking this to Rich!
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:40 pm:
We’ve always referred to Rich as “the plumber”, but only when he turned around.
- Skeptic - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:52 pm:
“Makes sense to prepare, especially for what seems inevitable.” Don’t forget these are the same folks that prepared for that “inevitable” AFSCME strike on 9/1/16.
- Henry Francis - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:52 pm:
We’ve gotta protect our phoney baloney jobs!
-Gov. William J. LePetomane
Blazing Saddles provides a treasure trove of lines and characters to add some levity to this mess. I think Durkin is great Taggart to Rauner’s Hedley Lamarr.
- Flynn's mom - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 3:56 pm:
I hate to sound Trumpian, but I think there is a leaker in GOMB/s
- Original Rambler - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 4:26 pm:
Why is this such a big deal? I mean, GOMB gets paid to prepare for these scenarios.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 4:28 pm:
===GOMB gets paid to prepare for these scenarios. ===
And this is a look at how they do it. Just skip over it if you aren’t interested.
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 5:03 pm:
===We’ve always referred to Rich as “the plumber”, but only when he turned around.===
Yep, if there’s a CRACK in the dam Rich will uncover it.
- Anon - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 5:20 pm:
My division is nearly fully funded by federal funds and the state matches the other small part.
We were told that they didn’t budget the small matching part (around 120,000 while the feds give us 1.2 million). Because of this our division is being federally investigated and we possibly are going to lose the entire program and be forced to lay off the employees.
Seriously, why is it that we are going to lose federal programs because the state can’t match a simple small percentage.
Around 12 employees will lose their jobs over the state not being able to match 120,000.
That’s going to cost us more in unemployment than it would just to match the darn funds. What the hell is the govenor doing.
- the Cardinal - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 6:13 pm:
Maybe Finally the Spend and Tax Budget BS is finally is over? 30 years is enough. Close the doors send all but essentials home for the summer. Stop all the construction projects etc. Maybe that will get the GA engaged in real budget and reform discussions. A Big Tax increase is coming hard and fast and thats no surprise, but so must some real reforms that people want as assurance that this garbage will cease in the future. There are No white knights in this thing and there is plenty of blame to go around.
- Mama - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 6:51 pm:
The Cardinal - I disagree that there are no ‘white knights’. The problem is those knights banged their heads against the wall for months to get a Senate bill passed, but Rauner killed it every single time.
- My New Handle - Thursday, Jun 15, 17 @ 7:18 pm:
It would be interesting to see the reports filed by agency directors who could not testify to any cuts during GA hearings. What is Red Flag and what is expendable?