Public safety officials and education will most likely take the hit as Governor Pat Quinn’s budget proposals mean 30 percent less funding to the county and city levels.

That was the fear and frustration expressed by local officials in a conference with State Representative Bob Flider (D-Mt.Zion) Tuesday morning in Decatur.

Flider met with mayors, police chiefs, sheriffs, county board chairmen and members from Macon, Moultrie and Shelby counties to listen to how deeply the cuts will affect them.

Governor Quinn has proposed to take $300 million in funds ordinarily destined for municipalities and use it to fill the state’s budget gap.

“The Governor has proposed that funding to the cities be cut. This will make services much more difficult to continue,” Flider said

“As a former mayor, I became immediately concerned about how this will affect the district I serve,” said Flider. “I’m letting the Governor know that the cuts would not be acceptable.”

Flider told the group that legislators have taken 12 percent pay cuts themselves.

“How can we ask everyone else to make cuts if we don’t take one ourselves,” Flider said.

Each official in attendance was given a chance to tell specifically how their community would be affected by the cut in funding.

Decatur is looking at an estimated loss of $1.9 million and Macon County would lose almost $370,000 from the state. As a result, Decatur and Macon County are looking at a reduction in law enforcement officers and firefighters.

Other communities, which are much smaller than Decatur, are already working with an even smaller number of law enforcement officers and cutting the number would prove detrimental.

“The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department has only seven officers,” Shelby County Board Chairman Paul Brooks noted. “Shelby County is a large county with lots of miles. It’s difficult to find a place to adjust.”

“I can’t see where cutting the budget and people losing their job is going to help the economy in Illinois at all,” said Brooks. “When they do these cuts, they cut where it hurts us the most - in our police force and in our education. There are so many other cuts they can make without cutting people’s protection of kids’ education.”

Other community leaders in the district voiced their concerns about having to make cuts in both the law enforcement and fire protection.

“These cuts (law enforcement and fire protection) are not going to make crime go away or lessen the number of fires,” said Sullivan Police Chief John Love.

Moweaqua is looking at a possible $45,000 cut in funding from the State.

“The smaller things in the community will disappear,” said Moweaqua Mayor Michael Tolly. “We’re going to try to make changes now so that if the cuts happen, it won’t be too drastic to the community.”

Moweaqua Chief of Police Robert Maynard said he has two full-time officers and six part-time officers, but has the advantage of help from three counties - Shelby, Christian, and Macon. But as the counties cut back on their deputies, that will add more difficulty on the city force.

“We already use the heck out of our officers,” Maynard said.

Windsor Mayor Dennis Hostetter noted that his city’s workforce is made up of five people, including two police officers. The possible $25,000 cut would mean maintenance work on city streets would not be done.

“With the price of oil and chip, we haven’t any choice but to not do it,” Hostetter said.

“A cut of $25,000 may not seem like much in light of $1.9 million loss for Decatur, but we (Windsor) are already operating at bare bones. There’s not much room for cuts,” he said. “Smaller communities will be hit even harder.”

Sullivan Mayor Ann Short echoed the sentiment.

“We have already cut back all we could. The only thing left is personnel and that would put our people at risk,” she said.

Hostetter added that common sense is needed in running the government.

“We in smaller communities don’t govern by politics. Political parties don’t mean a lot. We ask the State to govern by common sense,” he said.

Flider agreed that common sense is needed in government.

“Springfield is more of a challenge. Partisan issues get in the way,” he said.

He encouraged community and county leaders to draft resolutions and letters to be taken to the Governor.

“You have my word that I’m going to fight the reductions posed by the Governor,” Flider promised.