If the Orange County-owned Valley View nursing home is not sold to a private company soon, the county faces a large property tax increase and layoffs next year. That was the warning Tuesday from County Executive Edward Diana.
Diana stopped the funding for the facility as of July 1, but county legislators extended it through September. In the meantime, they have been reviewing four proposals from private companies to buy the facilities with no decision to date.
Diana told MidHudsonNews.com that without a sale very soon, drastic measures will have to be taken.
“We know that if for some reason Valley View is funded for 2013, then we know it’s an 18 ½ percent tax increase immediately and/or 320 workers being laid off”, Diana said. “That to me is unacceptable, both of those scenarios when I know we should do the right thing and sell it. It keeps the services here; it keeps it in Orange County.”
Diana also scolded the county legislature for not moving forward by selecting a buyer yet, saying any further delays will hurt the county taxpayers.
