By DOUG WILSON

Herald-Whig Senior Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A supplemental budget that would help the Illinois Department of Transportation buy fuel for operations through the end of this fiscal year has cleared its first hurdle.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, was approved 12-0 Wednesday by the House Appropriations Public Safety Committee. That bill would provide IDOT with about $20 million, including about $7.3 million for vehicle operation.

Christine Reed, IDOT's director of the division of highways, said all non-essential travel or other fuel use has been curtailed at IDOT facilities since May 1. She said employees are doing as much work as possible in the state garages. They continue to respond to calls about potholes or other problems.

"Basically the operations we have been performing are directly tied to public safety, but all other operations, including mowing," have been halted due to the funding shortage, Reed said.

Reed announced that many IDOT vehicles would be idled in a letter sent late in April. She explained that fuel, overtime pay and salt costs hit $86 million during the winter, while only $40 million was budgeted.

State statutes allow the transfer of up to 2 percent between budgeted line items to cover such emergencies. Those adjustments have been made, but IDOT remains critically short of fuel.

Reed refuted published reports that more money can be transferred into the fuel account.

"The financial people at IDOT are confident they have exhausted that 2 percent transfer capability," Reed said.

It takes $3.7 million to cover IDOT fuel costs in an average month. Last week Reed reported there was $1.5 million remaining and that allocation would be for all of May and June. The state fiscal year ends the last day of June and a new budget year begins July 1.

A memo from Transportation Secretary Milton Sees on April 25 told all IDOT divisions and offices to "make every effort possible to live within current operating budget allocations."

If Hoffman's supplemental budget or something similar is approved, that would ease the fuel crunch.

Mike Claffey, a spokesman for IDOT, said crews usually would be cleaning out culverts and other drainage structures. Shoulder repairs are a high priority in the spring. Mowing starts to occur this time of year, although it does not become a big priority until later.

"Our people are in touch with law enforcement and respond if there's a pothole" or other problem, Claffey said. "But we're not doing patrols looking for these problems ourselves because of the fuel funding shortage."

Workers at IDOT garages are cleaning and coating snow plows to keep them in good shape. They're also doing other types of indoor maintenance where possible.

Karl Kroshinsky, the construction field engineer for Western Illinois, continues to drive an IDOT vehicle to construction sites along Ill. 336 to oversee work there.

Reed recently alerted contractors that construction might have to be halted if fuel allocations are depleted. She said IDOT engineers need to oversee work on construction projects and some materials testing is done by IDOT as well.

"We hope there won't be any impact on our construction projects, but we needed to make sure the contractors knew it was a possibility," Reed said.

One of the biggest changes instituted by IDOT on May 1 requires that workers park state vehicles rather than take them home at night. In some cases that has saved fuel, but in others the construction projects are farther from state garages than from the engineers' homes.

-- dwilson@whig.com/221-3372