Candidate says Legislature has ignored public’s wish to keep The Villages

Posted 14 October 2013 at 12:00 am

Editor:

It was recently reported that the Orleans County Legislature can not legally initiate a referendum concerning the sale of the County Nursing Home. (Click here to see that article.) This does not excuse your elected officials from listening to the voters.

At a public meeting in February 2013, 90 percent of the spectators that spoke were against the sale of the nursing home to a private corporation. That very day your legislators voted to create a LDC, a non-elected body to oversee the sale of the facility.

It appears that the majority of your legislators had already decided prior to the public meeting. Are they considering the voters they represent and the needs of the elderly?

This is a major decision involving a facility worth millions of taxpayer dollars in both property and services. It will not help us as taxpayers if it should be sold for less its value.

It involves the lives of hundreds of current and future residents. It is imperative that voters have a voice. The only chance Orleans County citizens have is to vote for candidates on Nov. 5 who will do everything in their power to try keep the home public.

One example is to examine how Genesee County recovered an additional $5.2 million from Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.Can this and other measures be done in Orleans County to help the financial status of the nursing home?

All the “Save Our Nursing Home” candidates on the ballot want a chance to try and work hard for your best interests.

If the current legislators have the power to do this without considering what the majority of people want, what else do they have the power to do?

Linda Rak
Lyndonville

(Rak is a candidate for County Legislature. She is endorsed by the Conservative Party and is running under the independent “Save Our Nursing Home” line.)