The delay in passing a state budget is beginning to impact state-funded county operations and could hamper the county food bank’s ability to meet increased need.

The state pays 67% of the salaries, benefits and other expenses for child support enforcement staff in the county’s Domestic Relations Department, but the state has informed the county that those payment’s can’t be made until a budget is adopted, said Ann Brown, county budget and human services finance director.

The state General Services Department informed the county that payments from appropriated funds can’t be paid until a budget is adopted, Brown said.

She said the state directive says invoices should be submitted in accordance with normal deadlines and those invoices will be processed, but no payments will be forthcoming.

“Once the budget is passed, treasury will be able to release those funds,” Brown said.

The county pays the remaining 33% of those salaries, she said.

The county “fronted” the state’s portion of the salaries during a previous state budget delay that stretched to January or February, and was later reimbursed, Brown said.

County Commissioner Kim Geyer said reimbursement from the state Bureau of Aviation for developing a runway protection zone at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport is also being held up by the budget delay.

The county bought several properties and demolished buildings to create the protection zone, which is required by the Federal Aviation Administration, and submitted the costs for reimbursement, but hasn’t received the money, Geyer said.

She said she hopes the county receives the reimbursement by the fall.

“It tightens our cash flow,” Geyer said.

Sandra Curry, executive director of Community Partnership, which operates the county food bank, said the delay will impact a state program that provides half of the food bank’s supply of food if a budget isn’t adopted soon.

The county gets quarterly payments from the state to buy food through the State Food Purchase Program, which orders and stores food for the food bank, and the next quarterly payment is due in October, she said.

“That’s basically half of our allotment for the food pantry,” Curry said.

The other half of the food comes from the Food Assistance Program, a federal program that is not effected by the state budget, she sad.

Several months’ supply of food has been stored by the food bank, but it won’t last long, she said.

The need for the food bank has sharply increased because of inflation and the end of extra Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits that came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

Curry said the number of people relying on the food bank rose to about 9,000 in May from about 3,000 in March.

The quarterly payment that normally comes in October covers June, July and August.

Curry said the legislature isn’t expected to return to Harrisburg to resume work on the budget until September. If a budget is adopted then, the quarterly payment probably won’t be made until the first quarter of next year, she said.

If the budget impasse continues the food bank will obtain as much food as possible from the Food Assistance Program and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, a federal program for senior citizens, she said.