Warrenville recently said the state of Illinois, which has been trying to function without a budget since July 1, is improperly withholding Use Tax, Motor-Fuel Tax (MFT), Wireless 9-1-1 Surcharge and federal transportation funding revenue from local municipalities.
The municipality recently said on its website that these funds legally must be given to municipalities and 9-1-1 centers, and that the revenue is only collected by the state for distribution to communities.
The state government maintains that without a budget in place, it lacks the authority to distribute the funds. Warrenville said that because these funds are merely collected by the state, they're not tied to the budget impasse and should be distributed.
Warrenville expects to receive $254,916 in Use Tax from the state for the current fiscal year, but only has received $23,126 so far.
The city also has not received the $79,623 it is owed from the MFT. The funds are used to buy road salt for the winter, as well as street-light power.
Warrenville uses the DuPage County Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB) to dispatch first-responders, and the ETSB receives the Wireless 9-1-1 Surcharge Revenue collected and distributed by the state. The loss in funds to the ETSB is approximately $500,000 a month.
The city has said its council will have to consider cuts to services, higher property taxes and fees, and city-staff layoffs if these funds are not received from the state.
Warrenville is urging residents to contact their state legislators and the governor's office to demand that state-collected revenues be released to local municipalities, as these funds come from taxes and fees paid by residents who should not be denied any services as a result of state inaction.
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