Council debates future of facility

County officials took another look into the county home’s finances.

Jay County Council discussed a five-year review of Jay County Country Living’s financial information during its meeting Wednesday.

Documents presented to council Wednesday included figures on revenue and expenses for the facility between 2020 and 2024, as well as expenditures paid out of other funds, a list of the directors who have run the facility in the last 10 years — there have been six — and a report of the number of residents living at the facility in that timeframe.

Revenue includes dollars from state funding such as Residential Care Assistance Program, residents’ rent and money from renting out the farm, hay field and barn and pasture properties. Revenue came in as follows: nearly $345,600 in 2020, $290,000 in 2021, $316,600 in 2022, $362,250 in 2023 and $340,620 in 2024.

Expenses, which includes wages, supplies, food, utilities and other needs, were as follows: $465,850 for 2020, $445,950 for 2021, $459,575 for 2022, $467,080 for 2023 and $434,230 for 2024.

Council member Bryan Alexander asked for council member and Jay County County Living Advisory Board president Cindy Bracy’s perspective on Jay County Country Living’s outlook.

“Because to me, as a financial person, I see this thing as a train wreck,” Alexander said.

Bracy noted she pushed for the county to take a deeper look into the facility’s finances and future in past years. She said she also initially saw the facility as a “train wreck.”

She listed various changes that have been made since the advisory board was created, including developing agreements for residents’ rent, establishing training, safety and disciplinary protocol, forming a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank for meals — she pointed out that has recently started and won’t be visible in last year’s financials — planning for building repairs and renovations and other adjustments.

“There were a lot of things that were neglected and not done right,” she said, adding that she thinks now the county is headed in the right direction.

Comparing losses from 2021 to 2024, Bracy said there was almost a 60% savings. With 9,312 tax filers in Jay County, she added, that would equate to each of those taxpayers contributing $10 toward the facility.