City of Chester again sounds warning on utility bills

<span>As the state nears its eighth month without a full budget, Chester Mayor Tom Page is once again examining the idea of shutting off water service to Menard Correctional Center.</span>

<span>Page, City Attorney Jeff Kerkhover and City Clerk Bethany Berner met with Menard officials on Monday as the backlog of unpaid utility bills continues to build.</span>

<span>"The meeting went well," Page said. "I basically told them the same song and dance I've been saying. Our water and sewer fund is dry and if something isn't done by the end of the fiscal year, we'll be in trouble."</span>

<span>"We expressed our concern and we are asking for their help to try and resolve this because we don't have unlimited funds to keep going down this course," Kerkhover said. "There has to be a resolution in the near future."</span>

<span>The city's fiscal year ends April 30. Page told the Herald Tribune he would give Menard staff a 30-day notice if the decision is made to cut water service.</span>

<span>Previously, Page told the newspaper the decision would be his and would not require city council approval - although the city council members would be made aware of it.</span>

<span>"(On Monday), we went back over the seriousness of the city's situation and seven months is way too long," Page said.</span>

<span>At the end of November, the State of Illinois owed the city more than $968,000 in utility (water, sewer and natural gas) costs at various state facilities. Menard and Chester Mental Health Center owed a total of $688,362.55.</span>

<span>During the Chester City Council's Dec. 21 meeting, Page announced the city had received $169,088.52 from the state as part of passage of Senate Bill 2309. The bill released $3.1 billion in already-collected funds from 112 special state accounts to various agencies.</span>

<span>But no further funds have been received and city clerk records showed Menard was accumulating a monthly average of $57,480 in water costs alone at its main facility during the first five months of the budget impasse.</span>

<span>"I haven't pulled the trigger to shut them off, but I'm guessing that could come down the road, very, very soon," Page said. "Anybody else would be shut off."</span>

<span>Page, who is a former Menard warden, has previously said - and reiterated again this week - that the desire to maintain a good relationship with the Illinois Department of Corrections and Department of Human Services is a reason why service has continued.</span>

<span>"I know it's no one's fault down at the facility and the warden (Kim Butler) is working very hard to let Springfield know the situation the city's in and I believe that in my heart," Page said this week. "We have always maintained a very good relationship with the state.</span>

<span>"The City of Chester cannot continue to fund the state agencies. We've been asked to basically fund their utilities for the past seven months and we can't do that."</span>

<span>On Jan. 13, a Senate measure - Senate Bill 2230 - was introduced by Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) to allow use of the state's general fund and additional resources from the previous fiscal year to cover unpaid utility bills for the City of Springfield.</span>

<span>According to the State Journal-Register, the state owes the city more than $9 million in bills, including water, sewer and sanitation.</span>

<span>"If they pass a utility bill that's going to pay for the City of Springfield utilities, that's going to piss me off, to be honest with you," Page said.</span>