Hospital tax askings to remain the same

The tax asking of the Washington County Hospital will not increase next fiscal year. That was the unanimous vote of the Washington County Hospital and Clinics Board of Trustees at its public hearing Wednesday afternoon. The board approved the fiscal year 2011 budget which keeps tax asking at $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Hospital CFO Steve Sanders said that hospitals vary greatly across the state in the tax rates they charge. He said Washington County hospital taxes are fairly low compared to other counties.

?The rates for other hospitals in the state range from 63 cents to $4.15 per $1,000 assessed value,? said Sanders. ?This hospital is pretty conservative on its tax asking.?

Board Secretary James Mostek said the hospital is estimating that the tax will generate approximately $833,000 in revenue for fiscal year 2011. The budget the hospital approved Wednesday has $31 million in anticipated expenditures with a projected ending fund balance of nearly $12 million for the next fiscal year.

?Washington County?s tax asking of just over $800,000 last year ranked in the bottom half of counties in Iowa,? said Mostek. ?In the last six years, it has been the desire of the board to not raise the tax rate asking above $1. We could go up to $3, if we ever needed to. At this point in time, the board doesn?t feel that is necessary.?

Board chairman Edward Weeks said he was proud the hospital did not have to raise taxes.

?Keeping the tax asking the same is a reflection of the hard work everyone is doing here,? said Weeks. ?The fact that we can keep the tax rate down means people are taking this process seriously. It means they are trying to follow the budgets they set without having to raise taxes. I?m very happy with the work that we?re doing.?

The board listened to a presentation by Chief Nursing Officer Bonnie Kester about patient surveys of the hospital. The hospital has hired a firm called Press Ganey that measures patient satisfaction of health care services through surveys. Earlier this month, Press Ganey sent a letter to the hospital congratulating it on improving its patient satisfaction scores in its Emergency Department.

Kester said the reports she receives from Press Ganey are useful because ?you can see your results and figure out the areas you need to work on. We go over these reports with a fine-tooth comb.?

For the full story, see the Feb. 25 edition of The Washington Evening Journal