SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WJPF) – State Comptroller Susana Mendoza says that for the first time in 15 years, the state’s accounts payable is valued at less than $1 billion.

According to Mendoza, as of Monday morning, accounts payable stood at $941 million, the lowest it has been since August 2008.

“Over the 6½ years I have been Comptroller, I have looked for every opportunity to steadily pay the state’s unpaid bills from a high of $16.7 billion – as a result of the budget impasse under a former governor – to where we have been for the past year, which has been generally less than $3 billion,” Comptroller Mendoza said. “That included refinancing some debt at a much lower interest rate and seeking out every opportunity for federal matching funds the state used to leave on the table.”

April is generally the state’s best month fiscally as residents and businesses pay taxes.