By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Voters this summer could be asked whether they would support a property tax increase to fund operations at River Bluff, the county-owned nursing and rehabilitative facility.
But the Winnebago County Board member behind the proposal isn’t pushing for a tax increase. Instead, he wants to see how committed residents are to the county continuing to run the facility.
“Frankly, if it came down just to me, I would probably say let’s start exploring selling it, leasing it, repurposing it,” said County Board member John Butitta, a Republican who represents the 8th District. “But we need to find out if this is something the community wants to maintain.”
Butitta said River Bluff’s financial shortfall spurred his efforts to bring a question to voters. River Bluff is expected to operate at a $2.37 million net loss this fiscal year, according to the county’s budget. Butitta says the county either needs to increase revenue to the nursing facility or look for other ways to relieve the financial burden though sale, lease or other changes.
“I don’t see where we can continue on with that type of deficit spending indefinitely,” he said. “It’s contributed to the tight budget scenario that we operate here in the county government.”
Butitta hopes to bring the question to voters during the June 28 primary. The question would be advisory, meaning the County Board would use it for decision-making purposes but wouldn’t be bound to the outcome of the vote. He hopes to introduce the possible question to the County Board’s Operations and Administrative Committee in a couple weeks.
Related: Here’s what Rockford homeowners can expect on next year’s tax bill
River Bluff now levies a 0.044 property tax rate, generating roughly $1.9 million in taxes for the county. By law, it’s maximum rate is 0.10. Raising the rate to the maximum would raise more than $2 million and help close the budget shortfall. It would cost the owner of a $150,000 home roughly $25 more a year on the portion of the tax bill that goes toward River Bluff.
“The levy for River Bluff, nobody even knows when the last time it was raised at all,” said County Board member Angie Goral, a Democrat from District 13 who also serves as the chairwoman of the board’s River Bluff Advisory Committee. “It’s just like you running your household. You cannot run your household on the wages you made 30 years ago.”
River Bluff provides skilled nursing services including short-term rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, hospice and other long-term care. Goral said many residents on Medicaid or Medicare rely on River Bluff for care, and it’s an important service for the county to offer.
“It would be the worst thing we could do is close River Bluff or sell it,” she said. “River Bluff is one of the most important facilities we have in this area.”
Neighboring Stephenson County recently went through similar debate on its county-owned nursing home, Walnut Acres. County Board members there put the facility up for sale, but after pushback from residents and workers who felt it best served the community’s aging population in the county’s hands, the board voted 19-2 in October to reject a $1.6 million purchase offer. The offer price was well below the county’s initial $5 million ask.
The first thing the Winnebago County Board needs to determine is whether residents want the county to stay in the nursing home business, said Keith McDonald, a Republican from District 6 who is chairman of the Operations and Administrative Committee. If they do, he says a tax increase will likely be needed to support it.
Other efforts to increase revenue, such as accepting patients from outside counties, have previously been put in place, he said. And the coronavirus pandemic has added to the facility’s challenges.
“We’re losing $2 million a year on it, and that comes out of the general fund,” McDonald said. “So that’s $2 million a year that we’re missing out for public safety or to go toward roads or the hundreds of other things the county does.”
The County Board could decide whether to place a question on the ballot in February or March, depending on how soon the proposal is introduced at the committee level. By law, the question must be approved 90 days before the election.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.