The state budget is passed. It’s been signed by the governor. Four months of confusion and belt-tightening is over.

But does that mean a handle turns and state funding starts to pour toward all of the restricted agencies and programs like water from a faucet?

Not at all. Counties and other government entities and related agencies still have consequences that don’t evaporate with a vote and the stroke of a pen.

Counties, school districts, senior centers and more had their programs and services wounded, not by what the state did but by what it failed to do.

There was spending that was slashed. Doors were closed. Meals weren’t served. Necessary vacancies were not filled. Needed overtime was not authorized — or may have gone unpaid. Employees were furloughed.

And on top of that, money was borrowed to meet requirements that remained. Westmoreland County’s $425 million budget includes $100 million in money flowing from the state. Loans had to be secured to function.

Now they are left waiting to see when the funding streams will start again as employees still sit at home and spending is not restored. Getting back to normal might not happen until 2026.

“We don’t know when the state money will come, but it will be incremental,” Westmoreland County Commissioner Sean Kertes said.

That means a slow walk to restoration, but at least it’s a promise of return. Other losses may just be eaten.

Those loans include interest. That means the counties and school districts and others that had to borrow money to cover the state’s failure will end up paying for their survival. In Westmoreland County, it was $11 million borrowed from the state treasury. The state should waive that, but even if it does, it can’t waive the impact.

There are long-term consequences. Since the pandemic, Westmoreland has been trying to build back necessary staff, especially in service areas. The budget impasse may have damaged that work. It certainly doesn’t grow confidence.

Commissioners are right to describe the end of the impasse not as a victory but as a “sigh of relief.” It’s the kind of relief felt when relentless pressure is eased, not when it is taken away.

State leaders — lawmakers and the governor — may have finally finished the budget four months late. They have not dealt at all with the damage they have done to smaller government agencies across Pennsylvania.

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