The Blaine County Commission is facing a difficult decision that mirrors the national debate over health care and economics.
The commission is tasked with deciding if the county should continue to fund the Blaine Manor senior care facility in Hailey, which it currently does to the tune of $700,000, or if taxpayers should make the call by way of a vote on a two-year property tax levy.
To get the levy on the May 25 ballot, the county would need to make a decision by March 15.
If the funding issue is not resolved, the facility could be required to close.
The commission initiated a discussion about Blaine Manor funding during a regular meeting Tuesday at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey. The issue has become increasingly urgent as the economic recession has reduced some of the county's once-flowing revenue streams to trickling creeks.
Commissioner Tom Bowman said the three sources of county revenue most severely impacted are fees received through the Planning and Zoning Department, a sharp drop in the return on county financial investments and a decline in the county's portion of shared state revenue.
Bowman said investments that brought in a 5.5 percent return two years ago are now bringing in less than 1 percent. In 2009, the county projected it would receive $500,000 from investments, but ended up with about half that.
While the county budgeted just under $1 million to come in as its share of state revenue for the last fiscal year, the amount received was under $900,000. For the current fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2009, through Sept. 31, 2010, the county projected $745,000 in state revenue, but this number won't be known until later in the summer.
The drop in revenue has meant that the county is on track to spend $1.3 million in reserves this fiscal year despite decreasing the budget by $1.1 million from the previous year.
"The real question here is if we should continue to fund senior care and, if so, how?" Commissioner Angenie McCleary said in an interview after the meeting.
Unlike that for law enforcement and fire protection, funding for the senior care facility is not required by state statute.
One solution could be a two-year levy, which, if approved by voters, would cost property owners $6.34 per $100,000 in property value annually to cover the facility's $700,000 operating deficit.
However, that figure might not be high enough, given that the facility is in need of some significant repairs over the course of the next five years, including work on the roof, heating system and floor.
Commission Chair Larry Schoen said that to fund Blaine Manor without the levy, the county would likely have to make cuts to county departments, including reducing the number of employees.
Schoen said that if the levy does pass, he would vote not to increase property tax rates to bring in the maximum 3 percent annual increase allowed by the state. However, Schoen said, any tax increase would have to be considered in depth and by taking into account many factors other than Blaine Manor.
A 3 percent increase in property tax collections would mean about $250,000 more in county revenue and cost property owners about $1 per $100,000 of property value.
Bowman said that it is too early to determine how the levy ballot would be worded in regards to assuring a limit to a general property tax increase or to the future of Blaine Manor.
Also impacting the issue is the prospect of the Croy Canyon Ranch Foundation's planned senior care facility, slated to replace Blaine Manor as soon as mid-2012.
The new facility is dependent on the foundation's raising $13 million of the estimated $31 million cost of building the 75,000-square-foot facility. The remainder would come from the sale of Blaine Manor and a construction loan.
During a presentation preceding the levy discussion, foundation Executive Director Kathleen Eder said that just over $3 million has been raised to date, with over $500,000 of that coming in the past year.
McCleary said that given the impacts of the economy on fundraising, a timeline for construction of a new facility cannot be certain, one of the reasons she doesn't think the levy is a good idea this year.
"Ideally, if we have the levy ballot, the public should know if they could be faced with a two-year levy and then having Blaine Manor close afterwards," McCleary said in an interview. "We just don't know what's going to happen at the end of two years and if we make this decision this week, I don't think we're acting in a fashion I would want the county to act in regards to planning, transparency and public engagement."
Additional public hearings on the issue will take place today at 6:30 p.m. and Thursday at 3 p.m., both at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey.
McCleary said the county might require more time to determine the greater policy question as to whether it should be funding a senior care facility at all.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
County leaders are trying to establish funding for Blaine Manor, the region’s primary senior-care facility.
Photo by Mountain Express
