Stephenson County committee approves RFP to seek broker for nursing home amid cash shortages, critics urge referendum

The Stephenson County Nursing Home Committee voted to release a request for proposals for property brokerage and consulting services to explore sale or transfer options for the Stephenson County Nursing Center at Walnut Acres, saying the facility faces urgent cash-flow problems that threaten operations.

The vote to approve the RFP carried 3-2 on a roll call after more than an hour of public comment and staff reports. Committee members who voted to release the RFP said the county lacks the reserves and capital required to cover ongoing vendor bills and payroll; members who opposed the action urged more time for the new administrator and billing contractor to stabilize finances and said a public referendum may be required before any sale.

Why it matters: committee members and staff described a short-term cash crisis at Walnut Acres—about $29,000 in the facility bank at one point and roughly $1.2 million in accounts payable reported for the nursing home—alongside overdue vendor notices and near-term payroll risks. Committee leadership said those pressures, along with limited county reserves and previous management changes, drove the decision to solicit market interest from brokers and consultants.

The committee chair (identified in the meeting as "Chairman") told members that the board nearly called a special emergency meeting after learning there were not enough funds to cover an upcoming payroll and that staff had arranged an interfund loan as a stopgap. The chair said that, despite census gains and recent operational improvements, "cash flow is the problem right now" and that the county had "nearly exhausted the entirety of the advance on the levy." The chair added that the only viable way to secure immediate operating capital might be private…