Worth Less than the Stamp that Sent It

by Ashley Muchow Ah, finally.  The payment the state owed me finally showed up at my doorstep.  But, wait.  What is this?  3 cents! That’s it? No joke.  Our state government has been sending out interest payments via check for overdue vendor remittances that, in some cases, amount to less than the postage it takes...

by Ashley Muchow

Ah, finally.  The payment the state owed me finally showed up at my doorstep.  But, wait.  What is this?  3 cents! That’s it?

No joke.  Our state government has been sending out interest payments via check for overdue vendor remittances that, in some cases, amount to less than the postage it takes to send them.

It costs 44 cents to send a check via standard mail.  So why in the world is the Illinois Office of the Comptroller sending out 3-cent checks?  $4.40 to send $0.30 worth of 3-cent checks?  Not very cost effective if you asked me.

Chris Wetterich of My Suburban Life took a closer look.  These tiny payments are the result of a 2009 change in the state’s Prompt Payment Act.  The state now requires partial payments and interest be paid out automatically for all vendor payments demanding advanced payment on what the state owes.

The result of this change was an itsy-bitsy check invasion.  Unfortunately, state corrections are never easy; the Comptroller’s systems are not programmed to adeptly change the current payment process.

State Representative Robert Pritchard (R-Hinckley) thinks “it’s a ridiculous thing to be cutting a check for that little amount.  It’s a combination of bad policy with computer software that is antiquated.”

Two things our state government should strive to avoid and recondition: bad policy and antiquated processing.  Regrettably, the measure Pritchard introduced to the House (HB6849) to correct this problem was tabled this past session in the House Rules Committee.

Check out some of the many ways Springfield can kick wasteful spending and promote efficiency in our state.