DARLINGTON - More than 60 people attended Thursday's open forum on a referendum to fund the Lafayette Manor, some making emotional pleas to save the county-run nursing home.
Most of the people in attendance at the Lafayette County Courthouse took the opportunity to ask questions about the home's budget deficit, the use of the extra money and the board's intentions for the home if the referendum does not pass.
On Nov. 12, voters will go to the polls to decide whether to allow the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors to exceed the state property tax levy limit to raise an additional $500,000 for each of the next three years to keep the nursing home operating.
Supervisor Wayne Wilson said much of the Manor's funding from the state has been cut, creating a larger burden on the county.
"Running nursing homes cost counties more than Medicaid pays," Wilson explained.
Intergovernmental Transfer Program (ITP) funds also have been decreasing every year, Wilson said, because the state isn't passing the money down to the county level. Lafayette County is getting about $350,000 in ITP funding, about half of what it received a few years ago.
A spike in fuel costs in recent years also has added to the home's financial stress, said Supervisor Dewayne Larson, who called it an "enormous budget issue."
Interim administrator, Delores Rydberg, noted the Manor's state bed tax doubled the second half of the year, from $6,000 to $12,000.
Cuts in expenses also are being made, according to supervisors and Rydberg.
"We are whittling away at it," said Rydberg, crediting union staff for helping make some changes.
Manor staff, however, is not being cut, Rydberg said, but some positions are not being refilled, such as one administrative nurse. Overtime also will be cut by more than 50 percent starting in September and October, thanks to a different way of scheduling staff, she said.
Advertising also has been reduced.
"We don't need to advertise where we don't get any responses," Rydberg said.
However, even with all the cuts, Rydberg and board Chairman Jack Sauer said there is no way the Manor ever will be able to operate at a profit.
A larger deficit and another problem for the county budget is in Human Services, Sauer said. That department is saddled with state mandated services.
The reason the board reached the conclusion for a referendum to supplement the Manor, is that it is not a mandated service, Sauer said.
"There seems to be a pattern of counties getting out of the nursing home business. We'd like to stay in the nursing home business. We didn't think a referendum on Human Services had any chance of passing," he added.
Staying in the nursing home business has some further reaching ramifications for the county.
The Manor employs about 100 people, and receives numerous services from the county-funded Lafayette County Memorial Hospital.
"About 11 percent of the hospital's gross revenue comes from the residents at the Manor," Sauer said. "That's about $1.7 million (annually) over a four-year average."
A loss of the Manor could result in the loss of the hospital, Sauer said.
The possibility of selling the Manor to a private business also seems remote. Supervisors and some attendees agreed the Manor would be moved out of the county if it were privatized.
The passing of the referendum seems to hang on appealing to the emotions of the voters, one audience member said, which many attendees feared would not reach the young voters in the county.
If the referendum does not pass, the county still must budget for the Manor for 2010, until it decides which direction to take.
Eau Claire had a similar referendum fail, Supervisor John Bartels said.
"All the jobs were lost, and the people (residents) farmed out," Bartels said. "It's costing Eau Claire so much money now, they don't know which way to turn."
Most of the people in attendance at the Lafayette County Courthouse took the opportunity to ask questions about the home's budget deficit, the use of the extra money and the board's intentions for the home if the referendum does not pass.
On Nov. 12, voters will go to the polls to decide whether to allow the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors to exceed the state property tax levy limit to raise an additional $500,000 for each of the next three years to keep the nursing home operating.
Supervisor Wayne Wilson said much of the Manor's funding from the state has been cut, creating a larger burden on the county.
"Running nursing homes cost counties more than Medicaid pays," Wilson explained.
Intergovernmental Transfer Program (ITP) funds also have been decreasing every year, Wilson said, because the state isn't passing the money down to the county level. Lafayette County is getting about $350,000 in ITP funding, about half of what it received a few years ago.
A spike in fuel costs in recent years also has added to the home's financial stress, said Supervisor Dewayne Larson, who called it an "enormous budget issue."
Interim administrator, Delores Rydberg, noted the Manor's state bed tax doubled the second half of the year, from $6,000 to $12,000.
Cuts in expenses also are being made, according to supervisors and Rydberg.
"We are whittling away at it," said Rydberg, crediting union staff for helping make some changes.
Manor staff, however, is not being cut, Rydberg said, but some positions are not being refilled, such as one administrative nurse. Overtime also will be cut by more than 50 percent starting in September and October, thanks to a different way of scheduling staff, she said.
Advertising also has been reduced.
"We don't need to advertise where we don't get any responses," Rydberg said.
However, even with all the cuts, Rydberg and board Chairman Jack Sauer said there is no way the Manor ever will be able to operate at a profit.
A larger deficit and another problem for the county budget is in Human Services, Sauer said. That department is saddled with state mandated services.
The reason the board reached the conclusion for a referendum to supplement the Manor, is that it is not a mandated service, Sauer said.
"There seems to be a pattern of counties getting out of the nursing home business. We'd like to stay in the nursing home business. We didn't think a referendum on Human Services had any chance of passing," he added.
Staying in the nursing home business has some further reaching ramifications for the county.
The Manor employs about 100 people, and receives numerous services from the county-funded Lafayette County Memorial Hospital.
"About 11 percent of the hospital's gross revenue comes from the residents at the Manor," Sauer said. "That's about $1.7 million (annually) over a four-year average."
A loss of the Manor could result in the loss of the hospital, Sauer said.
The possibility of selling the Manor to a private business also seems remote. Supervisors and some attendees agreed the Manor would be moved out of the county if it were privatized.
The passing of the referendum seems to hang on appealing to the emotions of the voters, one audience member said, which many attendees feared would not reach the young voters in the county.
If the referendum does not pass, the county still must budget for the Manor for 2010, until it decides which direction to take.
Eau Claire had a similar referendum fail, Supervisor John Bartels said.
"All the jobs were lost, and the people (residents) farmed out," Bartels said. "It's costing Eau Claire so much money now, they don't know which way to turn."