Cutting costs, creating jobs and preserving Van Duyn nursing home highlight the stands of Democrat Toby Shelley on some key issues as he seeks election from District 6 in the Onondaga County Legislature.
Shelley, a deputy sheriff and road patrol officer for Onondaga County, faces Republican Mike Plochocki, former mayor of Marcellus. The two are vying to fill the seat vacated by James Rinehart, R-Skaneateles, who is retiring.
District 6 includes the southwestern part of Onondaga County, including Marcellus, Skaneateles, Spafford, Otisco and a small southern portion of Camillus. 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 Shelley:
Taxes
Q: What, if anything, do you think should be done about county taxes? Please be specific on tax proposals or budget cuts. 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: “I don’t think it’s practical to lower taxes. I don’t have a specific sales tax answer. Some of those towns and villages are going to need help to survive. Being a cop, if Marcellus can’t afford to pay its police department, would I be willing to help them out? Absolutely. I know emergency service-wise, public safety, to save money we need to take a hard look at overtime, take a hard look at take-home cars, better scheduling.
Arts programs are often early targets in budget cutting. On the possibility of arts cuts, Shelley said, “We should look at all these programs and prioritize. I’ve got an associate degree in art. But that’s a luxury.” On potential cuts to social services, he said, “I think we should re-evaluate the programs and see if there are any ways to run them more efficiently. I’m for helping people but they can only pay for so much.”
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: “A lot of it is about jobs. We need a climate more conducive to keep our jobs here. Why do some of these jobs leave? Corporate greed.” Some jobs, Shelley said, go overseas. He added: “We’ve got to bring jobs back. I don’t know that the government should be creating the jobs but they can make it conducive through tax breaks and things like that. We have a lot of educated people, a lot of great people at Syracuse, Le Moyne, Ithaca. We could recruit green technology stuff. Let’s really look for those niches and try to fill them here in Syracuse. I think maybe instead of looking big at a Racino, let’s look smaller at smaller businesses, and also revitalize parts of the city. We’ve got to have nice places to go. Franklin Park is beautiful. There’s beautiful homes that can get fixed up.”
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: “A lot of people are there because they can’t afford anywhere else. They’re on taxpayers’ dollar. It could be us or our parents one day. I’d be for trying to save Van Duyn. I know they’re looking at privatizing the nurses there. Upstate was looking to buy it for a while. I’d have to do a lot of homework. Is that going to be a priority, in my mind? I think it should be.”
(Annie Knox is a senior majoring in newspaper journalism.)
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