No to nursing home tax referendum, says DeKalb County Board after proposing it

DeKALB – Despite previously suggesting it, the DeKalb County Board declined to move forward with a proposed 2022 ballot referendum that would have asked voters to consider a tax levy to help the financially struggling DeKalb County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

The County Board voted, 20-1, Wednesday to not place a referendum on the June ballot. Board members Karen Cribben and Kiara Jones were absent from the meeting, and Tim Hughes recently resigned from the board.

DeKalb County Board Vice-Chairwoman Suzanne Willis, a Democrat, said Wednesday she wanted to clarify the refeferendum would have asked voters to weigh in on a levy, not impose one.

“It doesn’t say that we have to levy the tax,” Willis said.

According to county documents, the board’s executive committee proposed a resolution that would have put a tax referendum on the June 28 General Primary Election ballot. The referendum would have authorized a levy – an additional tax collection not included in regular county property taxes or levies – allowing the county government to collect tax revenue at a rate up to 0.1% to help maintain the struggling nursing home.

County Board member Michelle Pickett, a Democrat, was the lone vote in favor of the financial aid referendum.

“I thought it would be good to allow voters of the public to give their answer,” Pickett said in an interview Thursday. “Because that is a significant issue.”

She said she believes it’s important to support social services for elderly residents, and urged anyone with opinions on the nursing home’s future to stay informed and attend county board meetings.

According to county documents, a tax levy for the rehab center was first authorized 30 years ago, but never used. Current “financial distress,” according to the proposed referendum, had prompted the referendum debate.

“In 1991, the county was authorized after referendum to levy and collect a tax for the purpose of maintaining a prior nursing home facility, but never levied such tax over the 30 years since its passage because of an expectancy that the facility would fund itself without the necessity of tax levies,” according to the documents.

County Board member Mary Cozad, a Democrat, said she’s fielded recent concerns related to whether an increase in property taxes would aid the financially strapped nursing home.

“At the request of one of my constituents, I would like it to be made clear that, if the county home should become self-supporting or if the county should decide that it would sell the county home after all, that this tax would be [voided] automatically,” Cozad said, should the referendum make its way onto the June ballot.

Over the past year, the nursing home has been at the center of several County Board discussions as revenue stalls and the center’s resident population declines.

The center in recent years underwent a $13 million expansion meant to accommodate what staff said at the time was an overflowing resident population. However, the facility now faces dwindling resident numbers and cost increases, officials said.

The expansion included additional rooms, an activity center, an upgraded fire alarm system, a nursing call system, a larger chiller and a new boiler system. A 15,400-square-foot transitional care unit added 18 rooms to the 83,000-square-foot facility.

To offset 2020 and 2021 budget constraints, the County Board approved additional loans of $6.4 million to cover expenses, a move board officials said was not meant to be a long-term solution.

The average daily census for the nursing and rehab center went from 181 in 2018, to 168 in 2019, to 141 in 2020, to 117 this year. In order to break even, the nursing home census would have to be at about 175 people, according to county officials.

In January, the County Board hired a consultant to come in and assess the facility and its future. The $10,000 contract for consulting and brokerage services went to Marcus and Millichap, which has offices in Chicago and Oak Brook Terrace.

Options could include a sale of the nursing home, although county government officials have emphasized that’s not the preferred plan, and no decision has yet been made. A sale of the nursing home could occur following a ⅔ majority County Board vote, however. No vote has yet been set.

County Board member Bill Cummings, a Republican, said in his deliberations before the vote that he determined a tax levy would not be sufficient to offset the struggling facility.

“And, unfortunately, the passage of this item is not a solution,” Cummings said. “It only raises $2.5 million a year when we need at least double that.”

County Board member Steve Faivre, a Democrat, agreed. He said he would have been more supportive of the proposed referendum if the plan was more transparent to the voters and if the levy sought to capture $5 million. The 0.1% rate proposed would have covered liability costs only, he said.

“It doesn’t cover any of the operating challenges that we’ve got,” Faivre said.

The County Board previously absorbed the operating board for the rehab and nursing center in December. The action was meant to be one of several steps the county government is looking to take to address budget constraints at the facility.

Cummings said he believes the longer the nursing home continues to struggle financially, the more it could negatively impact the financial health of DeKalb County government.

“I’m skeptical that we could do it for very much longer,” Cummings said.

DeKalb County Board Chairman John Frieders, a Republican, said the board pledges to keep the community apprised of next steps.

“We will continue to deal with this thing moving forward and keep everyone informed about this,” Frieders said.

This story was updated at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 2022 with comment from Michelle Pickett.