By RORYE O’CONNOR
rorye.oconnor@register-news.com
MT. VERNON —
Jefferson County is owed more than $1.7 million in funds and fees from the state of Illinois, Cook County, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other sources.
The General Corporate Fund was estimated to be owed a total of $2,058,115 for August, but the county did receive about $353,657 from various sources, said Jefferson County Treasurer Debbie Elliott Marlow.
Local use tax in the amount of $17,128 came in Thursday, Marlow said.
The county received state sales tax in the amount of $54,737 and the 1/4 percent sales tax in the amount of $108,593 on Aug. 5 and replacement tax of $4,779 on Aug. 6, Marlow said.
About $98,000 was also received into the General Corporate fund of other income generated by county offices like the county clerk and state’s attorney, Marlow said.
The biggest drags on the county’s General Corporate Fund continue to be late income tax payments and salary reimbursements for the Supervisor of Assessments, the State’s Attorney and the Public Defender from the state.
State income tax payments from April through August to the amount of $627,761 are owed to the county, according to information provided by Marlow.
The salary reimbursements for the Supervisor of Assessments salary are owed February through July, the State’s Attorney salary reimbursements are owed May through July and the public defender salary reimbursements are owed from March through July, information states.
A further issue with those salary reimbursements is their impending reduction by the state of Illinois.
Last month, County Board Chairman Ted Buck said he had learned that statewide, the State’s Attorney’s salary reimbursement will be reduced by 65 percent, the Public Defender salary reimbursement will be reduced by 74 percent and that of the Supervisor of Assessments by $21,000, or 80 percent.
Buck said if the amount of money reimbursed by the state for the Supervisor of Assessments — nearly half of Jefferson County Supervisor of Assessments Steve Lueker’s salary — is not covered somehow, he didn’t think the county could keep him.
“If we have to pay this $200,000, we will have to cut five more employees,” Buck said in July.
According to information from Marlow, the balance in the General Corporate working cash account as of Aug. 16 was $102,205, after a $213,576 payroll and a payment of $7,000 to cover a shortfall in the Federal Insurance Contributions Act levy.
