MONTICELLO – Sullivan County residents opposed to the county privatizing the Care Center at Sunset Lake conducted a drive-by in front of the county government center in Monticello on Thursday morning.
Lou Setren, vice president of the family council at the county-owned nursing home said while the county maintains the local development corporation it created to oversee the facility will seek a management company, the resolution actually mentions several times that it will be sold.
“The county claims that this is a financial move but we believe it is more an ideological move on their part as they believe that the private sector is able to perform these functions better than the public sector,” he said. “We wholeheartedly disagree. The way private entities are able to turn a profit is by cutting staff and cutting services.”
During the regularly scheduled monthly legislature session later in the day, County Legislator Joe Perello said the resolution should be modified to reflect the facility is not for sale.
County Attorney Michael McGuire said the legislature can take back the property from the LDC, change the resolution and return it to the LDC, or that agency can vote to change the resolution to eliminate any language of a sale.
