BY ANDY GARDNER
North Country This Week

CANTON -- County legislators sparred over the Community Services Board’s recent decision to award a methadone clinic contract to St. Lawrence Health System.

The discussion started when Legislator John Burke, R-Norfolk, said he thinks the Community Services Board awarded the contract “in my opinion, without due deliberation.”

“It was done without an interview of any of the entities. It was a paper review,” Burke said. He also said he doesn’t think anyone involved in the decision “except possibly one” has background in chemical dependency services. He also took issue with the method of the CSB seeking potential contracting agencies through their own request for proposals.

“I view this as a diversion of taxpayer money to a private entity,” he said. “It … had the potential to turn around our balance sheet for all the services we render. It’s $1.4 million projected during the first full year of operation we have essentially robbed from our taxpayers.”

He added that although he “wholeheartedly” supports starting a methadone clinic in the county, he doesn’t think the metrics used to choose the awardee were thorough.

“The metrics used, first 30 points were basically a description of your organization. In addition to that, they failed … to mention one big metric. And that is if … somebody presents for services who can’t afford to pay, St. Lawrence County has always been a provider of last resort. We’ve never turned anyone away for not being able to pay. Is that true of St. Lawrence Health System?” Burke said. “Access to services is a critical point. It was nowhere on the metrics, among other things. I remain concerned, and I’m firmly committed to asking for whatever help I can in having someone, some independent entity, take a good long look at the process that was utilized.”

“The idea St. Lawrence Health System is somehow better equipped to do it is pure hogwash. There isn’t a shred of evidence. Read the proposals,” Burke said.

Legislator Rita Curran, R-Massena, said she thinks SLHS is the best choice to provide a methadone clinic.

“When (Community Services Director Jay Ulrich) first brought this to us and said ‘listen, these patients need a higher level of care than we can give them’ … St. Lawrence Health System already has those services in place,” Curran said. “They have charity care … social work to hook people up to services so they can have the programs.”

She said she feels the county government and departments are fulfilling their obligations to serve the public.

“People are forgetting county government is here to give services that no one else can and will provide in a meaningful and useful way to the patient,” she said. “Not here to

think if we can balance one area of our budget with federal and state funds.”

Legislator Margaret Haggard, D-Potsdam, offered a differing opinion on the role of county government.

“My definition of what the county is here for differs greatly from other people on the board. We are not here to take up the slack when privatization isn’t possible. We’re here to serve the people of our county and not shirk our responsibilities,” she said.