Maverick County Hospital District Board approves tax rate increase for fiscal year 2014-2015
By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
The Maverick County Hospital District Board of Directors comprised of President Juan Manuel “Chuco” Farias, Vice-President and Maverick County Treasurer Rito J. Valdez, III, Secretary-Treasurer Humberto Duran, and Board member Joaquin L. Rodriguez approved to increase Maverick County taxpayers’ Hospital District tax rate for fiscal year 2014-2015 from seven cents per $100 valuation to eight cents per $100 valuation at their Wednesday, September 24, 2014, regular meeting held at the District’s Second Floor Conference Room located at 3406 Bob Rogers Drive, while Board member Ricardo E. Calderon voted against the tax rate increase on behalf of Maverick County taxpayers. The effective tax rate increase is 20.04% from the previous year.
In addition to the tax rate increase, the Maverick County Appraisal District increased the certified property tax roll for 2014-2015 in Maverick County, increasing the total amount of taxes to be paid by Maverick County taxpayers while raising the total amount of taxes to be collected by the MCHD and other local governmental entities. This has the effect of a second tax increase for Maverick County taxpayers.
Earlier on August 29, 2014, the MCHD Board approved an $8,306,367 (Million) budget for fiscal year 2014-2015 with a deficit of $536,908, requiring that the Hospital District have to tap into its rapidly declining reserves to balance the budget deficit, except Board member Calderon who voted for the second consecutive year against the deficit budget noting that the Board had denied to review the proposed 2014-2015 budget line item by line item to attempt to reduce and balance the proposed budget and that it was unfair for Maverick County taxpayers to be burdened with another budget deficit by the Board, its 14th consecutive annual deficit budget approved by the Board and balanced with reserves.
The current MCHD Board majority of Farias, Valdez, Duran, and Rodriguez have approved a deficit budget each of their respective years of public service on the Hospital District Board, requiring that each year the Hospital District’s dwindling reserves be tapped to balance the deficit budgets approved by them.
In addition, Calderon noted at the September 24th meeting that the MCHD’s reserves market value had decreased by approximately $1.8 Million during the last quarter from approximately $20.5 Million to approximately $18. 2 Million. MCHD Chief Executive Officer Terri Contreras pointed out that the MCHD Board had approved to pay Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center (FDRMC) at its May 28th meeting the sum of approximately $1.5 Million for uncompensated care instead of the required minimum $897,000 because FDRMC had requested MCHD to fund them the full $1.5 Million to help them out. Board President Farias, Vice-President Valdez, and Secretary-Treasurer Duran voted to approve four months of extra funding for 2015 to FDRMC ahead of its due date to help it out while Rodriguez and Calderon were absent at that meeting. According to the FDRMC website, MCHD Board President Juan Manuel Farias is a member of the FDRMC Advisory Board.
During the presentation of the financial reports by MCHD Chief Financial Officer Nestor Bonilla, Calderon noted that in addition to the significant decrease of $1.8 Million in the MCHD’s reserves market value during the past quarter of 2014 , the Board had to use another $1,538,564 (Million) of the reserves during 2013-2014 fiscal year to balance the deficit budget approved by the Board. Calderon pointed out that he had voted against the deficit budget for fiscal year 2013-2014 and the use of District reserve funds to balance the budget on behalf of Maverick County taxpayers, just as he did once again this year on August 29th for fiscal year 2014-2015-which has a $536,908 deficit to be paid from the District’s reserves.
Calderon advised his fellow MCHD Board members that if the Board continues to use approximately between $1.0 to $2.5 Million of reserve funds per year to balance the deficit budgets and paying FDRMC for uncompensated care to indigent patients may cause the local Hospital District to run out of its reserves ($18.7 Million) in a matter of several years and be left without funds to continue operating the County Hospital District, possibly even going bankrupt in the future. Calderon pointed out to his fellow Board members that in several years Maverick County is not going to have its current population of 60,000 people, but rather more like 100,000 to 120,000 people and may not have a Hospital District to satisfy the public health care needs of this growing population for not having taken prudent financial measures today to avoid the depletion of its financial reserves. President Farias replied that he does not believe that the MCHD would go bankrupt while acknowledging that the District is financially bleeding due to the Board’s reduction of taxes several years ago.
Calderon noted that the MCHD Board has denied every suggestion, proposal, or recommendation to address the MCHD’s financial bleeding situation presented by him. The MCHD Board’s continued course of the “status quo” fails to address the dire and serious financial bleeding of the Hospital District’s reserves nor raises sufficient revenues to balance its own yearly budgets. Calderon stated that his concern as a Board member is to ensure that there is going to be a County Hospital District in the future for Maverick County taxpayers.
In another Agenda item at the September 24th Board meeting designed to assist the local hospital district obtain new grants or funding, the MCHD Board majority failed to approve the hiring of a health care grant writer, Don Williams, to assist the local Hospital District obtain state, federal, and foundation grants for bringing new health care programs and monies for the taxpayers of Maverick County due to financial and other alleged concerns raised by Secretary-Treasurer Humberto Duran, opting instead to table the agenda item. Calderon voted not to table the health care grant writer agenda item.
Williams grant writing proposal requested a monthly stipend of $2,500. Williams is a former CEO of the MCHD and holds a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from the leading graduate MHA program in the United States, Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Williams is a successful grant writer and professional health care executive himself. One or more of the current successful health care programs at the MCHD, including The Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program with the Texas Department of State Health Services, was originally obtained by Williams in the late 1990s.
During the budget workshops and public tax rate hearings held in August and September 2014, MCHD Board President Farias and other Board members asked CEO Terri Contreras for her recommendation on the proposed tax rate and she recommended to increase the tax rate from its current seven cents to as high as 11.237 cents per $100 valuation to balance the proposed 2014-2015 fiscal year budget, but the Board rejected her recommendation for fear of political retribution by Maverick County taxpayers. Some discussion was had at the budget workshops that the tax rate could be increased one cent per year until it reaches eleven cents per $100 valuation to appease Maverick County taxpayers from becoming upset by a large tax increase. Calderon told the Board that he does not favor raising the tax rate without doing a line item review of the proposed budget. Calderon advised his fellow Board members during the budget workshops that they have to make these difficult policy making decisions instead of deferring to Administration, which is what Maverick County taxpayers elected them to do.
On another Agenda item, the Board majority approved to certify MCHD Board candidates Joaquin L. Rodriguez and Ronald Hixson as unopposed candidates for the November 4th Board election and cancelled the November 4th Board election, except Calderon who abstained arguing that the Board had not been provided the two sole candidates’ application of candidacy for their review to be able to certify them.
Other Agenda items tabled by the Board were Victor Cruz Sandoval’s request to become a health care provider under the Medical Financial Assistance Program voucher system and Aspen Medical’s proposal to provide medical transportation for the District’s patients.
Another Agenda item tabled by the Board was the possible action on the five bids received by the District for the Legal Services Contract to a special meeting scheduled for October 6, 2014 at 5 P.M.
Another Agenda item was an update on the sale of the Hospital District’s property at 744 South Bibb Avenue to a San Antonio, Texas-based church group by local realtor Jose A. Aranda, Jr. from Realty Executives of Eagle Pass. Aranda and Realty Executives were hired by the Board to assist it sell the property. Aranda informed the Board that the sale of the property was scheduled to close at Stewart Title on Friday, September 26th, at 1:30 P.M. Calderon requested that the Board be provided a copy of the closing’s settlement statement for their review.
