[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish hospital tax moves step closer to November ballot

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish hospital tax moves step closer to November ballot
Published: Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 6:57 PM     Updated: Tuesday, July 20,
2010, 6:59 PM
 Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
 
The St. Bernard Parish Council ratified a plan Tuesday to put a dedicated
tax on a ballot Nov. 2 to pay the initial operating costs for a new parish
hospital, which is scheduled for completion in late 2011 or early 2012.

The proposal for an 8-mill tax for hospital operations was approved by the
parish's hospital service district board last week; the council vote was a
formality to give the hospital board approval to move forward with an
election. The tax proposal must be approved by the state Bond Commission
before being placed on the ballot.

The proceeds of the tax, which would last for 20 years, would help cover an
estimated $16 million in operating shortfalls for the hospital once the
doors open. 

Money to build the 40-bed, $69 million hospital outfitted with a medical
office building is largely in place. But investors for a $10 million portion
of the funding - through a federal tax credit program - have expressed some
concerns about investing in construction without knowing how the hospital
will operate afterward. 

Lags in reimbursement programs such as private insurance, Medicare and
Medicaid mean that the hospital would naturally be operating in the red from
the start.

Parish Council Chairman Wayne Landry, who also chairs the hospital board,
said the goal over the next few months will be educating the public that the
millage is a crucial component of the hospital's success.

"I believe what the people need to know is that they own this hospital, and
it's their hospital, and they need to come up with the money to start it up,
the cash flow to operate it, to buy all the supplies, to start paying the
light bills, the electric bills, until the hospital can sustain itself,"
Landry said. "It is extremely crucial, because without the money to start it
up, the best case is you'll have a hospital that's built that you can't
open, because there's no money to cash flow it. . . And right now all the
finances are lined up to build it, but this could cause those finances to
have a $10 million gap if they don't choose to finance it."

Parish Councilman Mike Ginart said voters deserve to make the choice. But he
and some other council members have disagreed with the additional costs of
the medical office building added to the project over the past year.

"All you can do is bring out the concerns, and hopefully we get the best
decision in place for a hospital that's going to be successful," Ginart
said. "It's the parish's hospital, and I don't think I would ever try to
stand in the way of them putting it to the people. Whether you agree or
disagree, it comes down at the end to money, and whether we have enough to
do it in the way they've chosen."