Feb. 2, 2022 6:50p; Updated 2-4 with Kerkman response
(WGTD)---All three candidates for the position of Kenosha County Executive say they oppose privatizing the county-run Brookside Care Center.
During a candidates' forum Monday, Clerk of Courts Rebecca Mastoska-Mentink said she opposed selling the facility. Kenosha County Board Supervisor Jerry Gulley said he agreed with her position.
While calling Brookside an assett, Samantha Kerkman did not explicity oppose privatization. She called for a line-by-line review of Brookside's budget, in light of a downtown in revenue due to COVID.
But in a conversation Friday, Kerkman said she's been against privatization all along, saying she hoped that a review of the operation would further strengthen Brookside's financial position.
A spokesman for the Gulley campaign confirmed Friday that Gulley was opposing privatization when he expressed support at the forum for Matoska-Mentink's position.
In response to Kerkman's comments Monday night, Kenosha County Finance Director Patty Merrill maintained that now is not the time to for a review, saying that a thorough examination would only be warranted if finances don't improve as COVID begins to fade.
In a phone interview with WGTD Wednesday, Merrill said it’s true that rehab admissions at Brookside have fallen sharply because surgeries have been postponed. But she says federal COVID relief funds have already been set aside to cover the losses. "We're still emerging from COVID," Merrill said. "I think once things get back to normal--if things don't stabilize--then that would be the time to do that kind of review. The model that Brookside uses has proven to be a successful model and not just something we would want to abandon because of a temporary situation," she said.
Up until COVID, Brookside operations actually made money for the county in recent years through Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, health insurance and private pay dollars.
In Monday night’s forum organized by WGTD, Kerkman seemed to suggest that Kenosha County was spending $21 million annually to keep Brookside afloat. But Merrill said Wednesday that the reimbursements more than offset the line-item expenditure.
Kerkman said Friday she was well aware that Brookside actually was a money-maker for the county.
In reacting to Monday's debate, Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser said Kerkman’s comments on Brookside showed that she doesn’t have a grasp on the institution's finances.
Kreuser has endorsed Mastoska-Mentink. The primary is February 15th .
Kreuser is stepping down after 13 years in the position.
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