Tuesday, July 27, 2010

TAX SHOCK FROM PPH! A 32% Tax Rate Hike!

Palomar Pomerado Health is moving forward with a 32% tax rate hike, to $23.50 per 100K of assessed value (AV) from $17.75 per $100K of AV, to cover payments on the Proposition BB bonds approved in 2004.

The PPH Finance Committee passed, without opposition, a resolution recommending the tax rate hike. The recommendation must be approved by the full PPH Board to take effect. The next PPH Board meeting is scheduled for August 9th.

In "calculating" the target tax rate ($17.75), PPH skewed its tax revenue models by excluding years of low AV growth (for example, FY1992/93 to FY1996/97), and by including only years of high AV growth (FY1997/98 to FY2003/04). PPH is now claiming the moderate AV growth since Prop BB passed was "unforeseeable."

Further, PPH has had knowledge of AV revenue issues for several years. As an example, last year: Prop BB Tax Rate Increase Coming Next Year?! (October 03, 2009)

This slide was presented to PPH Board members at a PPH meeting in 2008 warning them of AV revenue issues!

Monday, July 12, 2010

PPH Must Finance An Additional $74M

Palomar Pomerado must arrange financing for an additional $74 million (for a total of $1,057 million) in order to complete its new hospital. Major factor: the physical plant lease plan was not viable. Other factors: changes and proposed changes totaling about $30 million.

After raiding the funds originally allocated for a new patient tower at Pomerado Hospital, and raiding the funds for renovation of the downtown PMC hospital, PPH is still way short of funds. This is not a surprise to Informed Citizens. PPH had hidden this financing shortfall in plain sight using a purported plan to sell the physical plant for the new hospital and then leasing back its services. No takers were found for this ill-fated plan.

The following report is from 2009: "Yet pressures are also mounting at PPH. After learning the construction costs of its ambitious $773 million 'hospital of the future' in western Escondido had soared far above projections, the district's board was forced in recent months to slash nearly $30 million from the budget, with more cuts possible. Board members must decide whether to outsource a proposed $60 million energy plant to a private firm, . . ." NCTimes, May 28, 2009

In 2008, PPH claimed the lease plan was supposted to save $41 million. (see March 12, 2008)
esco1.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html

Friday, July 09, 2010

PMC (Lack of) Maintenance Reached Crisis Levels

This Elevator at PMC had already been down for 1 week according to PPH Staff as of June 18th.

PPH administration is requesting the Board to approve $1,689,750 for a renovation of the Palomar Medical Center elevators. ". . . it has also been determined that the patient tower elevators at Palomar Medical Center are deemed to be in need of renovation and are also an emergent need for use of FY 2011 capital. These elevators service core patient and visitor populations at PMC and thus also meet the definition of strategic imperative. As background, summary of this renovation is as follows:
o Risk of trapped visitors and patients.
o Fire Department being called to respond.
o Doubling workload when one elevator is down."
PPH Board Meeting Packet for 7/12/2010 (pages 40-43)