Maverick County Hospital District Proposes 45.67% Tax Rate Increase For 2017-18 Fiscal Year And $12.2 Million Budget

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017

The Maverick County Hospital District Board of Directors approved at their August 22, 2017 meeting to increase the Hospital District’s Tax Rate from $.09000 per $100 valuation to $.129864 per $100 valuation for 2017-2018 Fiscal Year, signifying a 3.98 cents per $100 valuation increase from last year or a whopping 45.67% increase exceeding the rollback tax rate or effective tax rate. This huge tax rate increase may subject the Hospital District’s proposed tax rate of $.129864 per $100 valuation over the tax rollback rate or the effective tax rate to a Maverick County Taxpayers Rollback Petition.

Board Secretary-Treasurer Rebecca “Becky” Robinson made the motion to approve the proposed tax rate of $.129864 per $100 valuation for 2017-2018 Fiscal Year, seconded by Board Vice-President Jesus Casas, and approved unanimously 4-0 with one Board member absent.  As a result of this significant tax rate increase, the Maverick County Hospital District is required to hold two public hearings on the tax increase to allow Maverick County taxpayers an opportunity to express their opinions and position about having their ad valorem property taxes increased for the 2017-2018 Tax Year.

The first Maverick County Hospital District Public Hearing on the Tax Increase for 2017-2018 held on August 29, 2017 did not have a single taxpayer present to give their opinion or approval or disapproval of the significant tax increase being proposed for the 2017-2018 Tax Year.  The August 29th Public Hearing on the Tax Increase was opened by Board President Adolfo “Fito” Olivares who called out if there was any citizen who wished to speak at the public hearing and there being none, Olivares closed the public hearing without any public comment.

The second and final Maverick County Hospital District Public Hearing on the Tax Increase was held on Tuesday, September 5, 2017, at 12 Noon at the District’s Second Floor Conference Room located at 3406 Bob Rogers Drive in Eagle Pass, Texas, and again no taxpayer showed up to speak about the tax rate increase.

One of the reasons for the huge Maverick County Hospital District’s tax rate increase being proposed for the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year is the whopping $4,183,342 (Million) Budget increase from its 2016-2017 amount of $8,052,027 to the new Operating and Capital Budget of $12,235,369 (Million) for 2017-2018, the largest single year budget increase for the Hospital District.

A $4,183,342 Budget increase by the Maverick County Hospital District raises many concerns and questions by Maverick County taxpayers, particularly because the Hospital District annually suffers large financial losses.  For instance, in 2015-2016 the Hospital District suffered a $1,079,749 (Million) loss, another $2,297,565 (Million) loss during 2015-2016, and $2,490,773 (Million) loss during 2015-2016.

Since the Maverick County Hospital District sold the Maverick County Memorial Hospital to Universal Health Services, Inc., a private for profit hospital company, in 2000 and entered into a restrictive 25 year agreement to pay for its indigent uncompensated health care, the Maverick County taxpayers are having to pay for the annual financial losses of the Maverick County Hospital District while Universal Health Services through its Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center makes an annual profit.  There are nine or ten more years remaining on this controversial agreement, which means that the Maverick County Hospital District is likely to continue suffering annual financial losses due to its patients who approximately 85% of them do not have medical insurance or have Medicaid or Medicare and cannot afford to pay the full value of the medical services provided to them.

It is anticipated that the Maverick County Hospital District Board of Directors will approve the $0.129864 per $100 valuation Tax Rate for the 2017-2018 Fiscal Year and the gargantuan $12,235,369 Operating and Capital Budget at their regular meeting later this month of September 2017.

The Maverick County Hospital District Board of Directors is composed of Board President Adolfo “Fito” Olivares, Vice-President Jesus Casas, Secretary-Treasurer Rebecca “Becky” Robinson, Ronald Hixson, and Juan Manuel “Chuco” Farias.