LITTLE VALLEY, N.Y. — Cattaraugus County lawmakers have voted for a second contract extension with a Buffalo accounting firm studying the two county nursing homes.
Cattaraugus County Legislature Chairwoman Paula Stockman, R-South Dayton, said that Lumsden & McCormick LLP of Buffalo agreed to include new data in its study, including additional nursing home revenue and the 2016 nursing homes audit.
Stockman said she and other county officials reviewed a second draft of the Lumsden & McCormick study a week ago in a conference call.
The study did not include the county’s receipt of two intergovernmental transfer payments for the nursing homes, Stockman said. A third such payment is expected this year.
After Michael McCarthy, an auditor hired by the county to audit the nursing homes in Olean and Machias, delivers that report in May, Lumsden & McCormick will incorporate that into its report as well, Stockman said.
The firm agreed to perform the work at no additional cost above their $20,000 contract and up to $5,000 in out-of-pocket expenses.
“We decided the most accurate information would be available after that audit is released in May,” Stockman said. “After that, Lumsden & McCormick will take that information and update their calculations.”
The county didn’t expect two intergovernmental transfer payments in 2016 and another in 2017, she added.
The accounting firm was charged with calculating the impact on residential taxpayers of the county nursing homes, which were intended to be self-supporting enterprise funds.
The study of the nursing homes’ cost on the county tax levy was commissioned last year after sponsors of a resolution to investigate the sale of the nursing homes ran into opposition from their residents and supporters.
“I expect there will be serious discussions within the Legislature over what to do with the information and what the next step will be,” Stockman said.
“There aren’t enough votes in this Legislature to sell the nursing homes,” said Legislature Vice Chairman James J. Snyder, R-Olean. “That $10 million in (transfer) money makes a huge difference in the county’s costs.”
