For the Express
JOHNSTOWN — When paying their 2011 taxes, Fulton County property owners will face a $4.7 million increase for services.
And that’s just for one facility — the Residential Health Care Facility, the county-owned infirmary.
During budget review Tuesday, department head Jennifer Gilston told the board of supervisors’ Health Services Committee that the department would need a $4.7 million contribution from the general fund to balance the department’s budget.
“We all anticipated a large county contribution,” Northampton Supervisor Linda Kemper said. “How-ever, I am shocked at what the real number is. This is going to drastically impact taxpayers.”
“To put an additional $5 million on top of last year’s $23 million [tax levy], I don’t know if we can do it,” said board of supervisors Chair-man and Perth Supervisor Gregory Fagan.
Health Services Comm-ittee Chairman and Bleecker Supervisor David Howard said because cuts in the infirmary’s budget are “as deep as they can go, at this particular point, it has to come out of the fund balance or the tax rate. There’s a limit to what we can tax property owners and I don’t know what it is, but I think we passed it a long time ago.”
But the money will have to be found somewhere, as the ultimate cost of having a county-owned facility is the list of mandated services that come along with it. Under federal coverage requirements, the facility is required to provide room and board, 24-hour nursing services, specialized rehabilitative services, social services, pharmaceutical services, dietary services, activities programs, routine dental care, and assistance with personal care.
“We’re being as honest as we can be [with the numbers],” said Gilston. “I know you’re in a tough position, but I don’t know where else we can cut without giving up beds and reducing staffing. There’s no other way to do it.”
Costs have remained stable, Fagan said, but the problem lies in the fact that state aid known as Medicaid Upper Payment Limits, a 50 percent state match, hasn’t been approved by the Legislature. The county stands to lose nearly $2.8 million.
“It wouldn’t be fair to say that’s the reason for the total [$4.7 million] increase, but it is substantial,” Fagan said.
Combine that loss with increases in state and local retirement contributions, declines in other reimbursements, and a “huge” payroll, comprising 78 percent of the facility’s budget, Fagan said.
The financial burden of carrying the infirmary has prompted the supervisors to consider selling it, causing outcry from employees and constituents alike.
“Government cannot be all things to all people,” Howard said. “A $4.7 million loss begs the question, ‘Can we provide this service?’ We have a fiduciary responsibility to everyone who pays taxes and to make sure they get what they pay for. Is what we are providing cost-effective?”
Still, regardless of the supervisors’ decision, Howard hinted the infirmary, and its costs, won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
“I don’t know the whole process [behind the sale], but it deals with [the state] Department of Health, which isn’t exactly known for its speedy processes. We did go see the facilities of each [bidder] who we thought was viable, and it seems everyone liked what they saw. But at the end of the day it’s a political decision.”
The Health Services Committee will meet again Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the county office building on West Main Street.