VENICE, Ill. (AP) -- City workers in the small southern Illinois community of Venice got an unpleasant surprise instead of paychecks this week.

In a news release Friday, Comptroller Roseann Koelker said the city didn't have the $22,000 it needed to make payroll.

Koelker said the money would be deposited as soon as it became available. The number of workers affected by the pay delay was not immediately known.

The announcement caught at least one department by surprise.

Police Chief Shawn Tyler says he and his staff of six full-time officers and three dispatchers didn't know they wouldn't be paid until they saw the news release.

He says city officials knew about the situation earlier in the week but didn't warn them.

Venice has about 2,400 residents and is five miles northeast of St. Louis.