Letter: Clarifies his comments

Dear Editor,

On page 9A of the July 24 edition of the Hudson Star-Observer there is an article written by Judy Wiff which relates to comments previously made by me concerning the daily cost to St. Croix County property taxpayers for subsidizing the operation of our well-run county nursing home.

In fairness to those who pay into our tax levy, out of respect for the staff and residents of our county nursing home in New Richmond and in the interest of being truthful, I am compelled to set the record straight.

Judy’s article states “In 2006 the county tax subsidy for the nursing home was $1.3 million, which Marzolf figured amounts to 6.47 cents per tax parcel per day.” In truth, that is correct, even though I never stated it quite that way.

If the $1.3 million is divided by 55,000 +/- (the number of tax parcels which pay into the levy), and if that result is then divided by 365 (the number of days in a year), the final quotient is, indeed, 6.48 cents per tax parcel per day.

In numerous County Board and Health and Human Services meetings convened since the July 2007 County Board meeting, at which I initially articulated the arithmetic to which Judy Wiff has alluded, the public has been told that — because approximately $450,000 in surplus revenue had been transferred from the nursing home’s ledger to help balance the budget of Health and Human Services — the $1.3 2006 nursing home subsidy alluded to above was more like $850,000.

Let’s re-do the math using that dollar amount:

$850,000/tax 55,000 parcels = $15.45 per parcel per year.

$15.45 per parcel per year/365 = $0.04234 per parcel per day.

$0.04234 per parcel per day/58 residents = $0.00073 per resident per day.

NOTE: During the July 2007 County Board meeting, when I initially shared my observations with the board, the 58 residents used above was predicated on the average daily census information which I had been given by the nursing home for July 2007.

As a taxpayer myself, I ask each of you who reads this letter the following two questions:

1) Can you name any other county-run department that is self-sufficient, and therefore does not depend on being subsidized by our property tax dollars?

2) Is it asking too much of us tax payers to set aside $0.00073 each day in order to assist those in our county who are unable to assist themselves?

Of those to whom much has been given much is expected.

Buzz Marzolf, Town of Troy

Supervisor 18, St. Croix County Board

Tags: opinion, hudson, letter, marzolf, nursing_home