JUDY BAAR TOPINKA, COMPTROLLER EDITION 10, JULY 2013  ́ ́ ́ ́ ́ ILLINOIS ́ ́ ́ ́ ́ BILL BACKLOG DROPS ... FOR NOW PAYMENT DELAYS EXPECTED TO GROW IN COMING MONTHS WHAT LIES AHEAD Although the backlog of General Funds bills at the end of the fiscal year was lower than at the end of fiscal year 2012, serious long-term challenges remain. On June 30th, Illinois had over $6 billion in unaddressed obligations – even after the additional April income tax revenues. In addition to the nearly $3.3 billion in unpaid bills at the IOC, there may be as much as $900 million in additional fiscal year 2013 vouchers arriving in the lapse period, along with approximately $2 billion in unpaid state employee health insurance bills and Medicaid bills. The focus this fall will be on the payment of remain- ing fiscal year 2013 obligations, which may ultimately claim more than $4 billion of fiscal year 2014 revenues as final vouchers are forwarded to IOC. After Illinois pays those obligations, the outlook for the remainder of fiscal year 2014 is unclear. The office’s ability to pay down the backlog further in 2014 will be contingent on the final state spending decisions and the performance of state revenues. Due to the one-time nature of many of the April income tax revenues, overall revenue estimates for fiscal year 2014 are below fiscal year 2013 collections, while expenditures are expected to increase due to increases in pension obligations. While Illinois appears to have made improvements in its overall financial condition during the past year, much of that is attributable to one-time revenue events. Further action will be required before Illinois can regain its fiscal footing, especially looking ahead to the scheduled reduction in income tax rates during fiscal year 2015. The General Funds fiscal year 2014 spending plan appears to be close to the estimated fiscal year 2014 revenue collections, which means it would be unlikely that the IOC will be able to reduce the backlog and lessen payment delays during the year. Additionally, during the course of the year, payment delays will likely increase from current levels as spending pressures during the first half of the year exceed expected revenues. For more information on local fiscal forcasting, check your state comptrollers website
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 08:49:51 +0000
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