Green County government continues to discuss its Pleasant View Nursing Home budget dilemma as if the only solutions are to receive more tax dollars. It needs to also consider options that don't include any additional expense to taxpayers.
The Green County Board of Supervisors resumed discussions about the nursing home Tuesday. Pleasant View, like nearly all of the state's county-owned nursing homes, is operating at a deficit. Last year, the county spent about $900,000 more to run the nursing home than it received from the state in Medicare reimbursements. That's a strain on the county's budget the board would like to ease.
Earlier this year, there was goofy talk of having an advisory referendum to gauge voter interest in a separate referendum to fund Pleasant View operations with additional tax dollars. On Tuesday, the talk focused on solutions at the state level.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, supports a plan that would make nursing home costs exempt from the state-imposed 2 percent levy limit. But all that would do, as Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, correctly pointed out to the board Tuesday, is lead to higher property taxes because the county would be free to levy what it wants to operate the nursing home.
Davis' solution is to use federal money - tax dollars - already coming to the state to help offset costs for nursing homes. In theory, yes, federal money intended to be used by the state to fund nursing homes should be doing just that. In reality, however, some of that money is being siphoned by the state to other expenses. If that siphoning is discontinued, state government will have to cut spending elsewhere or raise taxes to make up the difference. Guess which path the governor and lawmakers likely would take.
Green County government should not ask, or force, taxpayers to pay more for nursing home operations. It either should continue to determine that funding the difference to operate a nursing home is a priority, and make sacrifices elsewhere in its budget; or Green County needs to consider getting out of the nursing home business.
Those are hard choices, for sure. The easy solution, one government relies on far too often, is simply to collect more tax revenue. But we elect county officials to make the tough decisions rather than take the easy way out at taxpayer expense.
The Green County Board of Supervisors resumed discussions about the nursing home Tuesday. Pleasant View, like nearly all of the state's county-owned nursing homes, is operating at a deficit. Last year, the county spent about $900,000 more to run the nursing home than it received from the state in Medicare reimbursements. That's a strain on the county's budget the board would like to ease.
Earlier this year, there was goofy talk of having an advisory referendum to gauge voter interest in a separate referendum to fund Pleasant View operations with additional tax dollars. On Tuesday, the talk focused on solutions at the state level.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, supports a plan that would make nursing home costs exempt from the state-imposed 2 percent levy limit. But all that would do, as Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, correctly pointed out to the board Tuesday, is lead to higher property taxes because the county would be free to levy what it wants to operate the nursing home.
Davis' solution is to use federal money - tax dollars - already coming to the state to help offset costs for nursing homes. In theory, yes, federal money intended to be used by the state to fund nursing homes should be doing just that. In reality, however, some of that money is being siphoned by the state to other expenses. If that siphoning is discontinued, state government will have to cut spending elsewhere or raise taxes to make up the difference. Guess which path the governor and lawmakers likely would take.
Green County government should not ask, or force, taxpayers to pay more for nursing home operations. It either should continue to determine that funding the difference to operate a nursing home is a priority, and make sacrifices elsewhere in its budget; or Green County needs to consider getting out of the nursing home business.
Those are hard choices, for sure. The easy solution, one government relies on far too often, is simply to collect more tax revenue. But we elect county officials to make the tough decisions rather than take the easy way out at taxpayer expense.
