The Knox County Parks Department is in a fix. Superintendent Rama Sobahni told members of the County Council last night that they were shorted 61-thousand dollars by the state. It’s the third straight year that the Parks Department has failed to receive all of the funding approved in their budget by the Department of Local Government Finance.
Sobhani requested a temporary loan of 80-thousand dollars from the Council to cover their operating expenses until they receive their June tax draw. The loan will have to be repaid by the end of the year.
Council President Bob Lechner says the Parks Department isn;t the only county office to suffer a budget shortfall. Last month, the council agreed to an extension of a loan made to the Area Plan Commission due to the loss of tax revenue.
Lechner says he’s uncertain where the clerical error occured that created the shortfall, but it needs to be fixed. The County has also reached out to the state in helping determine how the problem can be corrected.