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News :: Miscellaneous |
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County Board VOTES Tuesday On Nursing Home Proposal |
Current rating: 0 |
by Mike Lehman
(No verified email address) |
28 Jul 2002
Modified: 11:26:53 PM |
County Board VOTES on Question of Putting
Nursing Home Referenda on November Ballot
Please Attend and Show Your Support!
Tuesday, July 30
7pm
County Board Meeting Room
Brookens Administration Building 1776 East Washington St., Urbana |
County Board VOTES on Question of Putting
Nursing Home Referenda on November Ballot
Tuesday, July 30
7pm
County Board Meeting Room
Brookens Administration Building 1776 East Washington St., Urbana
This might sound like a repeat of last week's call to attend the County Board meeting about the future of the nursing home. But it's not.
We now have the outline of a viable proposal on the table to actually be VOTED on this coming Tuesday, July 30. Many attended last week's meeting, where an outline of an agreement was submitted by Steve Beckett(D) and Deb Feinen(R).
While perhaps a bit short in the category of operating expenses, it can be the basis of a viable proposal to ensure the long-term future of the county nursing home. It would provide a new building of equal capacity, allow reuse of the old home for childcare and other county needs, and provide nearly $700,000 a year to help pay for Social Security and retirement of the home's workers, at least erasing the deficits that have occurred since a previous county board cut off funding these expenses in 1993.
While the talk at last week's county board hearing seemed mostly positive, it is important to note that the most implacable opponents of a public nursing home, which is a Champaign County tradition since 1908, were not present. However, they will be there this Tuesday and will likely be speaking and voting against the present proposal, which was submitted to the caucuses of the Democratic and Republican parties after last week's meeting.
There is little doubt that the Dems will support and perhaps even want to add enough to the operating expense part of the proposal to be sure that deficits will stay erased at the nursing home in the current atmosphere of drastic cuts from the state and feds for reimbursement for taking care of non-private pay residents of the home. While many Republicans forthrightly support the proposal, official Republican support for it is far from a foregone conclusion.
And the opponents of any use of public money, except for padding their own pockets, the Chamber of Commerce, has already officially come out against the nursing home funding proposal even though it hasn't come up for a vote. Which it will, this Tuesday. The public needs to be there in large numbers to defend the nursing home against attempts to privatize and/or de-fund it.
Proposals have been made that call for the privatization of the home. THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION. This would undoubtedly cut the quality of care received by residents and would attempt to renege on the recently established Living Wage policy commitment that the county made.
PLEASE ATTEND the county board meeting this Tuesday evening to express your support for placing these referenda on the ballot in November. Please pass this notice along to your organizations and to people you know and ask them to attend to support the nursing home. Public comments will be limited to five minutes per speaker. You can also submit written expressions of support at that time or directly to your county board representatives.
Mike Lehman
Champaign County Living Wage Association |
See also:
http://www.prairienet.org/livingwage/
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