For the second consecutive year, Butler County government was mired in disputes, accusations and controversy while dealing with major issues.

The fate of the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, which has an annual net deficit, took center stage in October when union workers rejected a final concessions offer.

The county commissioners subsequently hired the Chicago firm of Marcus & Millichap to market the nursing home for sale.

Commissioners Bill McCarrier and Dale Pinkerton said the workers’ rejection forced the county’s hand.

Commissioner Jim Eckstein opposed the sale, saying the county should not privatize Sunnyview.

Although SEIU Healthcare, which represents Sunnyview’s 200 union workers, submitted a counteroffer saving more than $1 million over two years, McCarrier said it was too late.

Through November, the union and Sunnyview residents protested the pending sale by coming to public meetings and staging a rally in Diamond Park.

McCarrier said in an interview for this story that opponents to the sale could have used different tactics.

“I was very disappointed with the way they expressed themselves to instill fear in the residents,” he said.

Eckstein said McCarrier is the one instilling fear.

“His sale alone puts fear and apprehension into the residents and work force,” Eckstein said. “He did that.”

Former county commissioners Joan Chew and Jim Lokhaiser also joined Sunnyview supporters, speaking at a November commissioners meeting.

As the county moved forward with the sale, all three commissioners agreed to obtain an appraisal and an actuarial study of Sunnyview.

The study will determine how much money from a sale that the county needs to place in the pension fund to cover possible retirements.

In December, Marcus & Millichap received offers from prospective buyers, who were required to quote at least $13.5 million.

Pinkerton said the bottom line is counties are not mandated to operate nursing homes.

“It’s a program that can be run by an independent company,” he said.

Pinkerton said companies that specialize in health care are able to optimize the efficiency of nursing homes.

The fate of the part-time county jury commissioners also was decided in 2013.

The debate leading up to and following the May commissioners’ vote eliminating the posts involved heated words among county officials, the Butler County Bar Association and a state attorney general’s office investigation.

The commissioners in May reversed their November 2012 vote by abolishing the jury commissioner posts, citing cost savings. The salaries and benefits of both jobs are budgeted at a total of $71,000 for 2013.

Jury commissioners Jon Galante and Clinton Bonetti opposed the move, stressing the importance of independent elected officials overseeing the jury pool selection process.

In June, Eckstein accused Pinkerton of wanting to eliminate jury commissioners for the purpose of affecting a defamation case Pinkerton filed against Eckstein in 2012.

Eckstein alleged Pinkerton could conspire with President Judge Thomas Doerr to taint the jury for the trial. That civil case still is pending.

In response to Eckstein’s comments, the county bar association formed a committee to determine if it should respond. The bar association is obligated to defend the judiciary from false accusations.

Eckstein fired back in July, saying his previous remarks were misconstrued as they actually meant he was worried about the appearance of impropriety.

Former jury commissioner Larry Thompson and Bonetti, who was first vice president of the jury commissioner association, sent a letter to the county stating the three candidates who ran for the posts in the May primary would not file a lawsuit if the posts were restored for at least one term.

McCarrier responded by saying the letter almost seemed like blackmail, which would not work.

A Sept. 17 ruling by the state Supreme Court on another case nullified the basis of a potential lawsuit to restore the posts at the county level.

Doerr in November issued a court order removing Galante and Bonetti from the jury pool selection process, citing a state attorney general’s office investigation as the rationale.

Both jury commissioners were locked out of their office.

Some details of the state investigation came to light in December.

McCarrier, Pinkerton, county solicitor Mike English and Connoquenessing Township resident Mark Krenitsky in October had received questionnaires to determine eligibility to be potential jurors on the same day.

McCarrier and Krenitsky, who publicly supported the elimination of the jury commissioners, subsequently were summoned for jury duty in December. Both men were excused from serving.

“That was very disappointing,” McCarrier said about the apparent political statement made by the jury commissioners.

Eckstein also questioned the methods allegedly used.

“I believe in free speech and political statements, but I think there might have been another way to get it across,” he said.

The state investigation, which is pending, caused the bar association committee to temporarily suspend its investigation into Eckstein’s comments.

The year started with Eckstein being accused of sexual discrimination for the second time in less than a year.

In January, he accused the employee, who was not officially identified, as making false allegations against him.

In June, an outside firm released a report finding no evidence of sexual discrimination. However, the same report stated Eckstein has problems interacting with others.

During Eckstein’s investigation into the suspension and eventual firing of a Children and Youth Services caseworker, another CYS worker filed an internal complaint against him, citing a hostile work environment.

The county in August fired Laurie Kubli, leading to a union grievance and subsequent arbitration. Kubli claimed the firing was retaliatory for her being outspoken.

An Aug. 22 letter states Kubli used poor judgment in an Aug. 8 incident.

After Eckstein went to the CYS office on Aug. 14 to get information on the hours Kubli worked the week of Aug. 8, administrative assistant Michelle Green filed the complaint against him.

Eckstein accused county officials of falsifying incidents he had with Green and a subsequent dust-up with county row officer Michelle Mustello, recorder of deeds.

He claimed Mustello tried to have sheriff’s deputies arrest him. She said Eckstein misunderstood what happened during the encounter.

Green in September said she filed her complaint to ensure she would never have to interact with Eckstein again.

Eckstein subsequently accused his fellow commissioners of fostering false allegations against him.

He said the most recent events were only the latest examples of their treatment of him.

Calling the other two men “lower than pond scum,” Eckstein said that in 2012 worse allegations were levied against him.

After the county determined Eckstein mistreated Green, McCarrier chided him in a letter for his behavior.

McCarrier said during the interview these types of incidents should not occur.

“It’s unfortunate he would pick on employees who I consider doing a fantastic job,” he said.

Eckstein denied he mistreats people.

“I have a gregarious, outspoken personality,” he said. “I treat men and women equally. I don’t sugarcoat stuff.”

Periodically throughout the year, the commissioners also debated the proposed new office building to be built next to the government center.

Eckstein maintained the county should rent existing office space at a lower cost. His colleagues argued they were looking at the long term.

An April debate about the costs to construct a building resulted in Eckstein’s colleagues criticizing his approach to governing,

Pinkerton said Eckstein created chaos while McCarrier said the county was made a laughingstock across the state.

Eckstein rebutted the comments, saying he did not give the county a bad reputation and that the problem really is he is a nonconformist.