Hospital to reassess after defeat
Boundary Community Hospital plans to reconsider the services it offers in the wake of a failed attempt to form a new taxing district.
Hospital CEO Craig Johnson said the hospital board of trustees will meet soon to discuss the impact of Tuesday’s vote. Of 1,400 votes cast, 766 opposed forming a hospital district. The 634 votes in favor fell short of the simple majority required for passage.
“It’s a small community hospital,” Johnson said. “We don’t run with a lot of excess staff, so we’re very concerned about what services may be affected. At this point, we’re really not prepared to answer that question.”
Supporters of the proposed tax district said it would result in lower property taxes while providing a financial boost to the hospital. The closure of the Louisiana-Pacific sawmill, coupled with a struggling economy, resulted in a bevy of unpaid hospital bills. Upkeep on the 24-hour emergency room also was blamed for the hospital’s financial woes.
If approved, the tax district would have replaced a county levy for hospital maintenance. A second levy, passed in 1993 for hospital construction and maintenance, is set to expire in 2005. At that point, the new tax district levy would have taken effect.
The owner of a $100,000 home pays about $98.60 toward the two levies. The proposed tax district would have reduced that amount to about $80 a year.
“We have drawn some conclusions from the voters,” Johnson wrote in a statement issued Wednesday on behalf of hospital trustees. “The current economic environment of our county is not conducive to any discussions regarding taxation.”
Johnson said the trustees also concluded that voters didn’t want to see a change in the hospital’s governance. Since opening in 1955, the hospital has operated as a county hospital, as a county department and with a board appointed by county commissioners.
If the new district was approved, board appointments would be made by majority vote and the board would have two fewer members.
Johnson said the board has no plans to send the issue to voters again. “We want to thank the individuals who really went to bat for the hospital and believed in the hospital and were committed to this project,” Johnson said.