A southern Illinois mayor says Governor Rauner's proposed budget cuts for municipalities would devastate his community.
Sesser Mayor Jason Ashmore says the governor's proposed 50% reduction in the Local Government Distributive Fund would cost his town about $100,000 - at a time when it's trying to figure out how to pay for state mandated projects.
"I mean we're making up for years of neglect on our sewer and water systems when I took over. This is being mandated by the state EPA that we catch all this stuff up. So, we have no choice. So, we're stuck here. We've got to do these projects, per the state. Then, if the state cuts our money, I'm not really sure what we're going to do. There's no way we can the budget because these are mandated."
Ashmore says Sesser is already operating at its lowest possible funding level and cannot cut personnel or services any further. He believes Governor Rauner's proposal comes down too harshly on municipalities.
Ashmore says raising taxes cannot be ruled out if the proposed cuts to the distributive fund are enacted.
