Letter: Supervisor needs to reflect on office oath

To the Editor:

In last week’s edition of the local papers, Supervisor Marzolf’s letter gave a glowing appreciation, calling it a miracle, of the county nursing home staff’s unselfish, dedicated and loving spirit shown to its residents.

He stated it comes as no surprise the nursing home receiving its third consecutive citation-free accreditation from the state of Wisconsin.

Mr. Marzolf’s appreciation is his to give freely, but his loose use of the language is something I take issue with. If money could buy miracles, the world would be full of them.

Ask anyone who’s dealt with the nursing home’s labor union during contract negotiations and you’ll quickly learn where their dedication line is drawn. Using “unselfish” when the county is forced to pay the nursing home staff 20 percent more than any other home in the county leaves me questioning the origin of Mr. Marzolf’s dictionary. I’ll concede his use of “no surprise” as being correct, but taxpayers paid dearly for something to be expected.

What’s most troubling was learning at our last board meeting Supervisor Marzolf's approval of county taxpayers subsidizing 15 private-pay nursing home patients $58 per day totaling more than $300,000 per year. These 15 didn’t qualify for public assistance, but with urging by Supervisor Marzolf, and others, their price to stay at the county nursing home was lowered to persuade these patients from going to a lower cost private home.

Again, by loose use of language the term, “lowered to remain competitive” was used, but the proper term is “charity” given to these 15.

I’d encourage Supervisor Marzolf and others with like mindset to read Colonel Davy Crockett’s writing on why it’s “Not Yours To Give.”

He properly writes, “The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue... You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other.”

Supervisor Marzolf likes to quote scriptures Luke 12:48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded;” but he should also remember the rest of that passage, “and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

My “hope” is he and others reflect on their “oath of office” and their duty taxpayers entrusted to them.

Steve Hermsen

St. Croix County Supervisor

District 26

Tags: opinion, supervisor, marzolf, boundaries