Public commenter warns Sullivan County that proposed cuts to ACC supervisory and trainee posts will harm residents
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Summary
A public commenter said the tentative 2026 budget abolishes supervisory and four trainee positions at the ACC, warned that downgrading staff contributed to a 1‑star rating under the InfiniteCare consultation agreement, and asked the board for justification; a second participant raised transparency concerns about an omitted packet item.
During the public comment period a resident told the board that several county positions listed as abolished in the tentative 2026 budget — including the dietary services supervisor and caseworker supervisor positions and four nursing assistant trainee posts — will lower the quality of care at the ACC.
The commenter said the ACC is serving 122 residents and that feeding residents with individualized dietary needs is “complex work” requiring supervision. “Feeding a 122 residents who all have individual dietary needs is complex work and has to be done correctly,” the commenter said, adding that social work supervision is essential and that “the residents at the ACC deserve better.” The commenter also said the facility became a 1‑star facility under its consultation agreement with InfiniteCare and tied that rating in part to staffing downgrades.
The commenter asked the board for a justification for abolishing six county positions and said the county’s reported use of temporary agency staff may undercut in‑house hiring efforts. The transcript does not record a detailed staff response or a formal justification from county administration in reply to that question.
A separate participant suggested the county consider shared supervision to cover gaps and raised a transparency concern, saying a special-meeting agenda item about a fine was not included in the packet and urging that “anything you’re gonna discuss should be in the packet” to avoid legal exposure.
The remarks were part of the public comment period; no formal board action on ACC staffing was recorded during the meeting.