Hospital put first
In an effort to keep the hospital front and center, Allen County commissioners Tuesday morning reversed their decision to rescind the $80,000 it pays to the city for its ambulance services to smoothe the waters between the two governing bodies.
Then they approached city officials for help in financing either a new or renovated Allen County Hospital.
County commissioners Dick Works and Gary McIntosh attended Tuesday afternoon’s Iola City Commission meeting to ask if the city would provide a portion of the money it collects each year in sales taxes to help meet debt service for a new hospital.
Iola’s 1-cent sales tax brings in about $1.2 million annually, with half dedicated to street maintenance and half for other capital improvement projects.
The county asked for half of that half-cent for capital projects, or about $300,000 annually for 10 years.
“We know we have a lot of hurdles to jump,” Works said. “We hope we can work together to make it easier for everybody.”
If the city assists with a portion of its sales tax, county commissioners figure they would need to ask for just another quarter-cent sales tax, raising $450,000 a year, to complete financing.
The $750,000 from county and city, with hospital profits and Medicare payments, would be sufficient to meet annual debt service on a $30 million issue.
Consultant Charles Wells explained earlier this month a new hospital eventually would generate enough revenue to pay for construction.
However, the county would need about $5 million in startup capital, Works said. “Right now, we have a zero balance.”
Without the city’s contribution, the county would be forced to ask taxpayers for a half-cent sales tax hike, he noted.
“Our goal is to keep everyone’s taxes low,” Works said.
City commissioners said they would consider the county’s request, directing City Attorney Chuck Apt to determine legality for the city to use money dedicated for capital improvements on what essentially would be county property.
Iola Mayor Bill Maness noted that the hospital and its services were vital to the community. He, and commissioners Bill Shirley and Craig Abbott, were reminded by McIntosh of the declaration last fall that 2010 be considered “The Year of the Hospital.”
The county also may need help with infrastructure improvements, Works and McIntosh said, but those costs won’t be known until a proposed site for a new hospital is determined.
“We have a short list” of possibilities, said David Toland, a member of the Hospital Facilities Commission, which is assisting the county in its efforts to determine the future of Allen County Hospital.
Regarding the ambulance issue, Commissioner McIntosh said, “It would be wise to postpone trying to solve the ambulance issues while we talk about the hospital.” McIntosh said it’s “a dead issue” for at least the next six months.
Tuesday morning Mary Kay Heard, another HFC member, told commissioners the “hospital issue is bigger than any other; it affects everyone in the county.” Heard and Mary Ann Arnott, HFC chairman, encouraged commissioners to separate the hospital and ambulance issues and that “we need a spirit of cooperation.”
