Hospital Likely To End Its Property Tax Levy

Deciding the hospital can support itself, Kootenai Medical Center’s board of directors is expected Monday to vote to stop levying property taxes.

“We receive less than 1 percent of our revenue from property taxes,” said the hospital’s chief executive, Joe Morris. “It’s not a significant part of our budget.”

This year, the hospital will collect $442,000 in property taxes. The hospital’s budget totals $52 million.

“The question was whether we could justify the need for it,” Morris said. “And we’ve been fairly healthy.”

The change won’t take effect until next year’s tax bills. Morris estimated it would save the average homeowner about $7.

“It will have very little impact on taxpayers,” he said. “We’re just a small sliver of the tax pie.”

The hospital gets most of its money from billing patients, Morris said. He attributed KMC’s healthy finances to local growth, a reputable medical staff and conservative spending.

Also, he said, KMC has nearly doubled its outpatient care in the last decade. That diversification has helped, as the average length of hospital stays shrinks nationwide.

The hospital’s finance committee, which includes three of the seven board members, voted unanimously Wednesday to halt the tax levy.

Kootenai Memorial Hospital, KMC’s predecessor, was built in 1966 with $75,000-per-year bonds approved by voters. In 1968, the hospital began collecting a tax levy to pay for hospital equipment. In 1986, the hospital began collecting a levy to cover hospital liability insurance.

The construction bond was paid off in 1982. Monday’s vote, barring any surprises, will halt the remaining equipment and insurance levies.

KMC employs 551 full-time and 442 part-time workers.

, DataTimes