A vote on Tuesday by union workers at the Butler County-owned Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center may decide its fate.

The vote, which will be at Sunnyview in Butler Township, is to decide whether to reopen the four-year contract with SEIU Healthcare that ends Dec. 31, 2014, for the purpose of meeting concessions sought by the county.

County officials maintain the contract must be reopened to save money since Sunnyview is in the red.

The nursing home is budgeted to lose $1.5 million this year. However, $450,000 of that is for a balloon payment on a 30-year bond, which funded renovations in the 1980s.

Sunnyview lost more than $800,000 in 2012.

Although county officials won’t confirm the concessions being sought, Commissioner Jim Eckstein previously said Sunnyview workers are being asked to pay a much higher portion of their health care costs than the current 1.5 percent paycheck deduction.

Commissioners Bill McCarrier and Dale Pinkerton both deferred commenting on the potential impact on Sunnyview’s future until the votes are tabulated.

“It’s too soon to judge that,” Pinkerton said.

Eckstein said the county should keep Sunnyview if the vote supports concessions.

“It should stay open if they compromise,” he said.

Tamara Lefcowitz, SEIU Healthcare organizer, declined to comment on the pending vote.

During the commissioners meeting Wednesday, Sunnyview worker Terry Penrod of Butler Township said Sunnyview is not too expensive for the county to run.

Penrod said an $800,000 deficit is a small portion of the county’s total budget, which is nearly $196 million this year.

“That is not a burden to the taxpayer,” he said.

Penrod said people don’t appreciate Sunnyview until someone they know requires nursing home care.

“Sunnyview is always a thorn until it’s needed,” he said.

Penrod said if the workers reject the concessions, he hopes county officials still would be willing to discuss ways to cut costs.

Sunnyview resident Kathryn Kirkwood also said the nursing home should be kept county-owned.

“No one wants to see it sold,” Kirkwood said from her wheelchair. “We need stability in our golden years.”

After multiple short stays there, Kirkwood began a lengthier residency in 2008. She said Sunnyview is better than other local facilities in which she has stayed.

“Definitely, Sunnyview is better in therapy than anybody else,” she said.

Kirkwood handed over a petition signed by roughly 150 people wanting the county to not sell Sunnyview.

Eckstein blamed Sunnyview’s deficit on the 2004 “pension grab” when the county retirement board increased employee pensions in lieu of providing benefits to retirees.

“That’s why we’re losing money there,” he said.

Although a subsequent retirement board lowered the pension amount, that reduction could only be applied to new hires under state law.

Eckstein said money derived from increasing the health care contributions shouldn’t be from the rank and file.

He said his colleagues refuse to support increasing the contribution from nonunion employees.

“I wanted to burden the highest paid employees,” Eckstein said in an interview.

McCarrier pointed out Eckstein repeatedly touts his choice of not taking county health benefits, but never speaks about the money he gets by doing so.

McCarrier said those who opt out of health benefits receive an annual payment of $2,400 and avoid a 1.5 percent paycheck deduction.

According to McCarrier, Eckstein has repeatedly said he’s on his wife’s health coverage, so the end result is Eckstein pays nothing for his coverage.

“He gets his health care free,” McCarrier said.