MONROE - Green County officials on Monday raised the possibility that the Pleasant View Nursing Home could close or be sold if an Oct. 6 referendum to help fund it fails.
It's not something they want to do, or plan to do, they say. But, realistically, it must remain an option.
That's why it's included as a possibility in a statement the county is required by state statute (Chapter 10, subchapter 1) to publish before the referendum, Green County Corporation Counsel Brian Bucholtz said Monday.
That statement, an explanation of the referendum's consequences, must be published in all county newspapers in their last edition prior to the vote.
The explanation concludes:
"In the event a majority of electors vote 'no' to the question, Green County's Pleasant View Nursing Home may have to be closed or sold. If closing the facility becomes necessary, residents will be relocated to other facilities. Necessary expenses incurred in Green County's operation of Pleasant View Nursing Home will result in a reduction of the operating budgets of other county departments. Green County will eliminate job positions, programs, and reduce services as necessary."
Green County Board Chairman Art Carter said Monday the statement isn't a departure from previous discussions. He also said it isn't an attempt to scare people into voting for the referendum.
"It's never been an absolute that we wouldn't close it," Carter said.
On Aug. 25, when the board voted to put Pleasant View funding to a referendum, Supervisor Herb Hanson said the county doesn't plan to close the nursing home next year regardless of how the people vote in October. Hanson also serves on the county's Pleasant View Nursing Home Committee.
The county doesn't want to close Pleasant View, Carter said, but it might not have any other choice. He said the cost to keep the nursing home operating can't be paid at the expense of other departments forever.
Pleasant View is expected to operate at a deficit of about $1.2 million this year. Last year, the gap was about $900,000. Rising staffing expenses and the withholding of Medicaid funding by the state government are the primary reasons for the deficit. In the past, the county has used money from reserves to make up the difference, but now has only about $1.1 million left in reserves.
The Oct. 6 referendum will allow the county to exceed the tax levy rate by up to $890,000 for each of the next five years, to fully fund Pleasant View.
Bucholtz said voters must be aware of the possibility the home could close or be sold if the referendum fails.
"We can't help one department by sacrificing the others," he said.
A "no" vote wouldn't mean Pleasant View would close immediately, Carter cautioned.
The county has no plan to start sending residents to other nursing homes or force them out of Pleasant View by the end of the year. Carter estimated it could take up to a year before residents could find other housing.
Until there were no more residents at the nursing home, the county still would have to staff and maintain the building. It still would require cuts in next year's budget to pay for the home, Carter said. But the process to close it still could begin.
There are about 125 residents at Pleasant View. The county is obligated by state statute to provide housing for about 10 of them because of their special needs. The remaining residents would need to find alternate housing if Pleasant View were closed.
It's not something they want to do, or plan to do, they say. But, realistically, it must remain an option.
That's why it's included as a possibility in a statement the county is required by state statute (Chapter 10, subchapter 1) to publish before the referendum, Green County Corporation Counsel Brian Bucholtz said Monday.
That statement, an explanation of the referendum's consequences, must be published in all county newspapers in their last edition prior to the vote.
The explanation concludes:
"In the event a majority of electors vote 'no' to the question, Green County's Pleasant View Nursing Home may have to be closed or sold. If closing the facility becomes necessary, residents will be relocated to other facilities. Necessary expenses incurred in Green County's operation of Pleasant View Nursing Home will result in a reduction of the operating budgets of other county departments. Green County will eliminate job positions, programs, and reduce services as necessary."
Green County Board Chairman Art Carter said Monday the statement isn't a departure from previous discussions. He also said it isn't an attempt to scare people into voting for the referendum.
"It's never been an absolute that we wouldn't close it," Carter said.
On Aug. 25, when the board voted to put Pleasant View funding to a referendum, Supervisor Herb Hanson said the county doesn't plan to close the nursing home next year regardless of how the people vote in October. Hanson also serves on the county's Pleasant View Nursing Home Committee.
The county doesn't want to close Pleasant View, Carter said, but it might not have any other choice. He said the cost to keep the nursing home operating can't be paid at the expense of other departments forever.
Pleasant View is expected to operate at a deficit of about $1.2 million this year. Last year, the gap was about $900,000. Rising staffing expenses and the withholding of Medicaid funding by the state government are the primary reasons for the deficit. In the past, the county has used money from reserves to make up the difference, but now has only about $1.1 million left in reserves.
The Oct. 6 referendum will allow the county to exceed the tax levy rate by up to $890,000 for each of the next five years, to fully fund Pleasant View.
Bucholtz said voters must be aware of the possibility the home could close or be sold if the referendum fails.
"We can't help one department by sacrificing the others," he said.
A "no" vote wouldn't mean Pleasant View would close immediately, Carter cautioned.
The county has no plan to start sending residents to other nursing homes or force them out of Pleasant View by the end of the year. Carter estimated it could take up to a year before residents could find other housing.
Until there were no more residents at the nursing home, the county still would have to staff and maintain the building. It still would require cuts in next year's budget to pay for the home, Carter said. But the process to close it still could begin.
There are about 125 residents at Pleasant View. The county is obligated by state statute to provide housing for about 10 of them because of their special needs. The remaining residents would need to find alternate housing if Pleasant View were closed.