Feb. 6, 2022 11a
(WGTD)---Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser isn't accepting the clarifications and explanations given by State Rep. Samantha Kerkman over some comments she made last week that immediately drew the attention of county officials.
Kerkman is one of three candidates on the Feb. 15th ballot to succeed Kreuser, who's retiring after 13 years on the job.
During a candidates' forum hosted by WGTD last week, Kerkman said that the county was spending $21 million on the Brookside Care Center without mentioning that up until COVID that the amount was fully reimbursed. Kerkman also suggested that a decline in revenue due to COVID merited a line-by-line budget review. She also didn't rule out privatizing the county-run nursing home, which includes assisted living and rehab components.
The next night at a different forum, Kerkman referred to the addition of an elevator at the Kenosha County Center at Highways 50 and 45 costing $1 million.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Kreuser said Kerkman's remarks indicated that she didn't have a grasp on county finances. Up until COVID, Brookside expenditures were more than fully reimbursed by Medicaid and Medicare, and private pay dollars. Also, the elevator is a small part of a $1.9 million expansion and renovation plan at the center.
In clarifying her remarks later in the week, Kerkman said she was fully aware that Brookside's costs were reimbursed. She also said she opposes privatization, and only wanted the review to further strengthen Brookside's position. As for the elevator, Kerkman attributed her lack of understanding of the matter to sketchy details in the budget book that she examined.
Friday afternoon, Kreuser put out another statement, indicating he stood by his earlier remarks. "The CIP (capital improvement program) made it clear that the project at the Kenosha County Center is far more involved than an elevator," he wrote.
"Regarding Brookside, she clearly gave wrong information about the financial picture. Rep. Kerkman has been known for her fuzzy math and she needs to do her homework before she can talk about the county's finances," he concluded.
Kerkman had no immediate reaction to Kreuser's second statement of the week.
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