Overdue Summary

Sorry for the lack of posts here during the middle part of the year. I just counted seven major theatrical productions I've been a big part of since April; that, and taking on another part time position (temporary, if all goes well) left little time for anything. In addition, I really don't have a lot of evidence that this blog is read by anyone; Blogspot sends me pageview numbers, but doesn't screen for bots, and I've had no comments or e-mail since... forever, it seems.

Anyway, a summary of the important pieces of work going on in the County. First, of course, is the sale of the Manor; earlier this week, we traded the keys for a little more than $18 million, and everyone was happy. Well, perhaps with the exception of some of the employees who chose to stay, whose pay and benefits (actually not finalized at this point) have been substantially reduced.

It's important to note that up until this week – when the Manor was owned by the County – pay scales were much higher than those at other nursing homes in the region. This was a double problem: not only did the County have a significantly larger payroll, but Medicare bases its reimbursements on the 'regional average' cost of running a nursing home – which was, of course, much lower than our cost. So our costs were high, and our reimbursements were low, and that is much of the story of the subsidy that the taxpayers had to provide to keep the doors open each year (about $5 million this year).

Add to that the fact that we probably had 40 more staff at the Manor than was needed; staffing patterns were perpetuated from the days of the Meadows “because that's the way we always did it.” The new owner will adjust things to come into balance, and will make a profit, and wages will no doubt rise as time goes on. This whole process was clear two years ago, when we began preparing for the sale, and should not be a surprise to anyone.

The Manor will continue to be a good place to live and a good place to work.

There are rustlings and rumors throughout the Board regarding the issue of raises for management and confidential (M&C) employees (everyone not in a union). They haven't gotten a raise in seven years, a situation which is an abomination and cannot be treated as anything else. The great fear is that those who have resisted the raises – there was always a justification to say “not enough money right now” - who have been in the majority all along, will approve token raises and then be able to shelve the subject for years to come. “They got a raise; we can't just spend whenever we want to; where's the money going to come from?”

I'll tell you where it'll come from – right off the top. There is no higher priority. Let them ask those questions about anything else the County pays for, but this abomination must be ended. Our fiscal conservatism has, on the backs of our employees (and ex-employees who have been laid off), put us in a relatively healthy position. St. Lawrence County, up on the Canadian Border, is borrowing a million dollars a year just to keep the lights on. We have a healthy fund balance, no more Manor subsidy, no more MOSA GAT (in fact, we're making money on solid waste), and sales tax may be up. There are challenges in the budget, of course, but when the cuts come, M&C raises must be off the table.

And finally, there is a little movement regarding the huge solar array in the 'boneyard' north of Laurens.  Solar City came to present to the whole Board last month, and although there is a certain amount of foot-dragging from the usual suspects, there is also a good deal of interest. Stay tuned.