As Blaine County begins looking at the prospect of a shrinking budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, its expenditures are coming under scrutiny, especially those not required by state code.
Perhaps the most notable of these, due to the amount, is funding of the Blaine Manor senior care facility in Hailey, which the county helps subsidize to the tune of $700,000 per year.
Next week, the Blaine County Commission will begin discussions of bringing a levy to voters this spring that, if approved, would help pay for the operation of the Blaine Manor.
County Commissioner Angenie McCleary said in an interview that a levy could be proposed for $700,000 to $800,000, which would equate to a payment of about $6 per $100,000 in property valuation annually. However, McCleary emphasized, no amount for a proposed levy has yet been set.
The county will open the levy discussion at a regular commission meeting on Tuesday, March 2, at 11:30 a.m. Additional public hearings will take place Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and Thursday at 3 p.m. All meetings will take place at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey.
McCleary said that to get the levy on the May 25 ballot, the county would need to decide by March 15 whether to hold the election.
Preceding the discussion Tuesday, a presentation will be given by the Croy Canyon Ranch Foundation, which is planning to build a replacement senior care facility in Croy Canyon, west of Hailey.
The opening date of the Croy Canyon facility is at earliest 2012 and is dependent on the foundation raising $13 million of the estimated $31 million it will cost to build the 75,000-square-foot facility. The remainder would come from the sale of Blaine Manor and a construction loan.
To date, just over $3 million has been raised for the new facility, said Croy Canyon Ranch Foundation Executive Director Kathleen Eder, who will discuss the fundraising effort Tuesday, including the status of a $1 million donation by developer Harry Rinker.
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The difficulty in fundraising in a tough economy has directly impacted McCleary's stance toward the Blaine Manor levy.
"I think it's a really difficult decision, but the foundation is under $4 million right now, so we might be setting ourselves up for multiple two-year levies," McCleary said. "For me, there are too many unknowns [to support a levy]."
One of those unknowns, according to Commissioner Tom Bowman, is that the Blaine Manor facility is in need of repairs to its roof and heating system, which could affect the amount of a levy.
"If the facility is going to stay there for a while, it's also going to require significant repair costs," Bowman said. "They don't need to happen today, but they are imminent."
McCleary, who holds the commission's seat on Blaine Manor's board of directors, said that without $700,000 from the county, the facility would not be able to operate.
"A question the commission has to ask next week is what will happen without the funding," she said.
In November 2008, Blaine County voters passed another two-year levy, the funding from which will be used to preserve open space and wildlife in the Wood River Valley. The Land, Water and Wildlife Levy is projected to raise $3.45 million from property taxes, costing the average property owner $50 per year.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
Angenie McCleary
