I read with great interest the views of Mary Berry, president of the Albany County League of Women Voters, in her letter ("Many options exist for long-term care," April 15).
As an elected legislator and one who has spent more than 50 years assisting people through the grieving process, I believe our Legislature has made a good-faith effort to determine fact from fiction on the Albany County Nursing Home crisis.
These years have shown me many of our senior citizens can't safely live at home with the in-home care available here. Further, there is something wrong when so many of our seniors are sent so far from their loved ones with no family members or advocates to protect them.
The League and the Legislature want what is best based on well-informed decisions. Anything less is unacceptable. Yet:
We have two audits with opposite conclusions. Our effort to hire an independent auditor was vetoed.
Of the three requests for proposals for a private business solution published in the appropriate business journals, the Legislature heard recently of the only valid one. We are analyzing it. It should be noted, USG never bid on any of the three proposals.
It has been proposed USG receive up to $16 million from the county as a sweetener. Wouldn't you want to see USG's audited financial statements and list of investors before we make a commitment? I asked for it three months ago and have not seen it.
The League I know wouldn't want the Legislature to be stampeded down a path that could leave many far from home.
Herbert W. Reilly Jr.
Colonie