What the hospital resolution could do
Monday, August 31, 2009, 1:45pm
The Valencia County Commission will debate a hospital resolution at Wednesday’s meeting. The published agenda only says the resolution will consider what should be done with the hospital mill levy — $20 million over eight years — passed by voters in 2006.
Just over a week ago, the commission got an update on the progress, or lack thereof, of the hospital. Bob Davey, the chairman of Valencia Health Commons, the group in charge of the hospital project, said hospital construction is being held up by two things: in part the lawsuit filed by nine plaintiffs that’s now awaiting assignment in the New Mexico Court of Appeals and the fact that the commission hasn’t committed the mill levy money to funding operation of a hospital once it’s built.
The lawsuit will stick with us for a while longer. The court hasn’t assigned it to a panel of judges, and once it is, the process could take another year. But, according to Commission Chairman Pedro Rael and others, there’s nothing the courts have done that’s holding up construction — no injunctions or other court orders.
Which means construction of a hospital might hinge only on whether or not the commission commits the mill levy money to the operation of the hospital. Why is a commitment important? Though it might not happen, one possibility is for Valencia Health Commons to build a hospital only to have the commission deny the mill levy funding for it. Can the commission do that? Probably. Think of it this way: The mill levy was passed for operation of a hospital or emergency facility; it didn’t specify which hospital or emergency facility.
The resolution coming before the commission on Wednesday will seek to commit that money in a way that will move construction forward. At the last commission meeting four commissioners said they support the hospital, we’ll see how they actually vote on the issue this week.
The next question: If the mill levy gets committed, is Valencia Health Commons actually ready to build?
