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Monroe hospital champions levy hike

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, October 8, 2003

By Sharon Salyer / Herald Writer

A struggling economy has some benefits: a 20-year low in interest rates and good buys on construction.

Officials at Monroe’s Valley General Hospital say those are two reasons why voters should approve a 35-cent increase per $1,000 in property tax assessments for its maintenance and operations levy, since tax dollars would go further.

The levy increase would fund a $47 million bond issue that is part of an overall $64 million, 10-year plan for hospital improvements.

The question will be on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. So far, there’s no announced opposition.

Hospital officials say they proposed the improvements to keep up with growth and upgrade hospital services and technology.

The economy, and voter concern about personal finances, could play a significant role in how people vote on the levy increase, hospital spokeswoman Martha Dankers said.

If the levy increase is approved, the owner of a $200,000 home would pay an additional $70 a year, for a total of $100, for the hospital levy .

Taxpayers currently are paying off a 1990 hospital bond issue, which will drop from 11 cents to 9 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation next year.

Highlights of the hospital’s $64 million plan include:

  • Building a two-story, 99,000-square-foot structure to house the hospital’s inpatient and critical care units, diagnostic imaging and emergency department. Current hospital space would be expanded, providing larger quarters for the birth center and surgery units. Total cost is an estimated $34.3 million.

  • Buying nearly $15 million in new equipment to keep the hospital up to date with the latest technology, including an electronic system using bar codes to ensure that the right medication is delivered to patients and wireless systems to speed up medical orders and get lab results.

  • Spending $3 million for doctors, including hiring four staff doctors to follow patients from the time they are admitted to the emergency department until they are discharged, and continuing to help recruit family practice and specialty doctors to area clinics to ensure there are enough physicians to provide medical care.

  • Building the hospital’s cash reserves to $13.7 million over the next 10 years, enough to cover hospital operations for 90 days.

    The public hospital’s taxing district includes Snohomish, Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar, Index and surrounding unincorporated areas of the county.

    The levy increase needs a simple majority to pass.

    Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

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