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Illinois Agencies Receive Partial Payment from Downstate Fund; Comptroller's Office Moves $17.6 Million from General Fund
The Illinois comptroller’s office has transferred $17.6 million to the Downstate Public Transportation Fund from the state’s General Revenue Fund, to cover all remaining pay requests from the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2016.
This action also provides FY 2017 first-quarter payments to some of the downstate public transit agencies suffering from a shortfall. However, the fund still owes an additional $157 million.
Laura Calderon, executive director, Illinois Public Transportation Association, said the funding transfer had been directed in February but not achieved until now. She added that the state is “a long way from paying all they owe to downstate transit.
”Under state law, Illinois provides 65 percent reimbursement of operating expenses for downstate systems through the fund. The state is bound by law to provide this funding as a continuing appropriation whether the legislature appropriates sufficient funds or not. However, until now the state had not transferred funds from the General Fund into the transportation fund since June 2016.
The transportation fund supports some 56 rural and urban “downstate” agencies outside the greater Chicago area.
For example, Connect Transit in Normal had been prepared to shut down operations until it received the $1.885 million first-quarter operating reimbursement from the comptroller’s office. This payment covers July-September 2016.
“We are grateful that the Illinois comptroller was able to provide Connect Transit with its first quarter operating assistance payment,” said General Manager Andrew Johnson. “Our state legislators took an active interest in this funding problem and we are very appreciative of the efforts as they continue to support us as we deal with this issue. We remain optimistic that the state will be able to bring these payments up to date and keep public transit moving in Bloomington-Normal.”
Jennifer Garrity, manager of administration with the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLink) in Moline, said her agency received its full first quarter payment of $2.9 million, part of which will be used to satisfy the line of credit the agency drew down to cover expenses. “We are still awaiting second-quarter reimbursement, which we typically see in September,” she said. “Full services are continuing and we are optimistic we will see our second-quarter reimbursement within the next 30 days.”
Karl Gnadt, managing director of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, said his agency had not received any state payments as Passenger Transport went to press.
“Our first quarter [FY 2017] requisition was over $8 million alone—and there’s no provision in the law to allow for partial payments. So we await a full first quarter payment,” he said. “By the end of December, we will be operating via service revenue, local revenue and transfers from our capital reserve funds.”
The Greater Peoria Mass Transit District (CityLink) also reported that it had not received any funding as of the morning of Dec. 2.
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