By LARRY SCHOEN, TOM BOWMAN & ANGENIE MCCLEARY
In an Aug. 3, 2010, special election, Blaine County voters shall decide whether to vote yes or no for a special levy to cover the annual taxpayer subsidy of Blaine Manor. Blaine Manor is an acute care facility for seniors and other seriously physically challenged adults. It is the only facility of its kind in the community. The levy would last for two years, raising $995,000 per year, and the money is intended to cover the subsidy for three years. The money would be placed in a dedicated fund for use at Blaine Manor. The cost to individual taxpayers would be equivalent to about $9.40 per $100,000 of property value per year (about 78 cents per month).
The levy question is on the ballot because Blaine County, like local and state governments throughout America, has experienced a serious revenue shortfall. Without support from this temporary levy, Blaine County will be unable to meet its expenses without further cuts in spending and in capital reserves. Such cuts would affect county programs and services, including possibly Blaine Manor itself, and place the County at greater financial risk in the coming years.
Blaine County froze salaries and cut approximately one million dollars from its budget last year, when it budgeted for the current fiscal year. Last year and this year, the county also has kept spending in check, for example, not filling vacant positions. We eliminated all capital budgets and spent from reserves. We continue to seek and find various ways to improve efficiency.
The goal of the levy is twofold, in light of these fiscal challenges:
1) Keep Blaine Manor open, until a larger, better, self-sustaining, replacement facility—Croy Canyon Ranch—can open near Hailey.
2) Maintain near the current level of county services and support for certain countywide discretionary programs.
The levy affords you, the citizens and taxpayers of Blaine County, the opportunity to participate directly in setting priorities for your community. We encourage you to vote on Aug. 3. How important to you is Blaine Manor and providing local, long-term care to seniors? Do you value the current level of county services and programs? While the Board of County Commissioners will not take an official position on the levy, we will restate our long-standing policy that local, long-term care for seniors is a critically important service in our community. The elderly and disabled are among our most vulnerable citizens.
It is important for you to have the information you need to make a decision at the voting booth. For more information, please visit the Blaine County website (www.blainecounty.org) and click on "Blaine Manor Levy," or, contact your County Commissioners directly (788-5500 or bcc@co.blaine.id.us); or, visit www.blainemanorlevy.com.
Our thanks go to all of you.
Larry Schoen, Tom Bowman and Angenie McCleary serve on the three-member Board of Blaine County Commissioners. Schoen is the chair of the board.
