Streamlining county services, investing in cultural resources and support for Upstate Medical University control of Van Duyn nursing home are among the stands on key issues from Republican Ryan McMahon in the race for District 15 in the Onondaga County Legislature.
McMahon is now on the Syracuse Common Council from the city’s District 3. In the county legislature race, he is running against Mark English, a family-practice lawyer. lawyer. This is McMahon’s first campaign for the county legislature and English’s second.
County District 15 is in the center of Onondaga County, including the southwestern corner of Geddes, Solvay and a small southern portion of the city of Syracuse. The election is Nov. 8.
Democracywise posed three questions on some key issues to the candidates in the contested open-seat races for the Onondaga County Legislature. Here are responses from McMahon:
Taxes
Q: What, if anything, do you think should be done about county taxes? How would you get the money required to provide public services? Raise taxes? Which? Increase fees for services? Which? What, if any, specific services or programs would you cut to balance the county budget?
A: “What you can control is inside of you. The county has been getting surplus and they probably will continue. New York State put a property tax cap, and if they don’t bring mandate relief with that cap, they are going to have economical crisis where employees are laid off. I think the issue right now is that the county needs to streamline services, use technology, hold vacancies. And if that builds up a surplus at the end of the year, they need to give if back to the property tax payers.”
Young People
Q: Keeping and attracting young people is a long-standing concern for our region. What, specifically, do you think the Onondaga County government should do make the area more attractive to young workers and their families?
A: “We need to be competitive. In this region we have a lot of natural resources, excellent universities, excellent hospitals. But the cost of living is very important. Compared to New York City, it is relatively cheap. But we are not the city. We need to compare ourselves to other regions in the country that we can actually compete with for jobs and bodies. And I think that we are just way out of line when it comes to our property taxes.”
“We need to create an economic climate where its attractive for employers to come here and jobs will attract people that are a fact. Investing in strategic things like the arts and cultural resources. We won’t get any large employers without having things for people to do here.”
Van Duyn Home and Long-Term Care for the Elderly
The county-owned Van Duyn nursing home provides long-term care to many of the county’s elderly. But Van Duyn is in deep financial trouble. Last year, taxpayers absorbed about $5.7 million of Van Duyn’s costs and taxpayers are expected to absorb another $3 million this year. As of March 1, 2011, the state also cut off Medicare and Medicaid payments for new admissions to the nursing home, citing unsafe conditions there. And since March, county officials and Upstate Medical University have been negotiating for Upstate to take over the home. But Upstate has not yet agreed, citing concerns about whether the state can subsidize Van Duyn. If the home closes, it’s unclear what will become of Van Duyn’s residents. At the same time, the county’s population — like the rest of the nation’s — is aging and many will need long-term care.
Q: What if anything do you think the county government can or should do to keep Van Duyn from closing? What else, if anything, can or should the county government do to meet the long-term care needs of our aging population?
A: Citing the negotiations with Upstate Medical University, McMahon calls for a wait-and-see attitude about Van Duyn. “So until that deal isn’t there I don’t know why we would need to assume that it is going to close. But my understanding is that it is moving forward and no jobs will be lost.”
“Seniors overall, there are more issues with them than just healthcare. The major issue with them is property taxes. They can’t afford these tax increases every year with their fixed incomes and that is why we need to do something for property tax relief.” He added: “A lot of our seniors are on Social Security and they need employment opportunities. We need to give them the job training capabilities to teach them the skills that they need to have a second job or a part-time job.”
(Stephanie Narvaez is a senior with dual majors in broadcast and digital journalism and international relations.)
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