GOSHEN – The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court has ruled
that the Orange County Legislature was wrong when it voted by a simple
majority to create a local development corporation to sell the county’s
Valley View nursing home.
Opponents who sued, who included residents and employees of the facility,
challenged the legislature’s decision claiming lawmakers violated
the provisions of the county charter, which says a two-thirds vote is
needed.
State Supreme Court Justice Elaine Slobod had earlier ruled in the petitioners’
favor, in a matter represented by attorney Michael Sussman, that a two-thirds
vote was needed.
The county appealed the decision and now, the Appellate Division of State
Supreme Court, in a unanimous 4-0 vote, rejected the county’s motion
to affirm the simple majority vote of the legislature.
County Legislator Michael Anagnostakis, who was among those who led the
charge to keep Valley View in county hands, said this latest decision
should put the issue to rest.
“As far as I am concerned, this five-year shameful saga to get rid
of a service for our elderly, the nursing home, so that others could profit
off the seniors, is now finally over. The people have won and the corruption
has lost,” he said.
If the county so chooses, it could appeal to the state’s highest
court, the Court of Appeals.
“Orange County followed the same model as was successfully leveraged
in Ulster County,” said county spokesman Justin Rodriguez. “Seeking
to privatize a major financial burden on the county made sense. However,
we look forward to finding cost saving efficiencies and working with the
legislature to find innovative ways to become a more fiscally sound government.”
