Accusations that Valley Medical Center tried to pull a fast one.
Valley Medical Center is trying to expand its public hospital district. So in May, 45,000 voters will be asked if they're willing to be annexed into the district. What the hospital originally left out in the ballot language is that voting "yes" would increase their property taxes ($177 on a $300,000 home). Critics cried foul--saying it's a sneaky way to raise millions of dollars. A judge sided with opponents, instructing the hospital to tell voters that voting for the annexation would increase their taxes.
Here's another scenario to consider: If you live in an unincorporated area, and a city wants to annex your neighborhood, the typical ballot measure would not lay out all the new taxes you might incur by joining the city. It's assumed that you understand the consequences of annexation. So is it fair to require a hospital district to lay out its taxes?
Was Valley Medical just following the law? Or was it trying to be sneaky? And will this controversy influence how you'd vote on the ballot measure?
Firstly, let me say I am a guest in your city from Autralia, so all I can provide is an outsider's view...
In Australia any proposition for changing boundaries/city ordinances requires FULL DISCLOSURE of the effects, but good and bad, to be provided to all parties.
As an example, the local city wanted to raise taxes by .8 percent a year for three years to "improve services" - the disclosure turned out that the city wanted to pave roads that a developer should have done - it was easier to try and put one over the voters than chase the developer in court.
I am shocked that a proposition such as this changing of hospital boundaries does not require similar levels of disclosure.
A fair and rational outline of the proposition : - along the lines of "your hospital services will improve with additional staff, etc or extend coverage to you but will cost you 59 cents for every $1,000 that your house is valued" may be sufficient.
To me, this smells of underhanded manoevering by the hospital board to put more money in their coffers.
Mike Moore said:
Caveat Emptor (Let the buyer beware)
is just fine for capitalism and the
marketplace of supply and demand.
It should not be the guiding principle
behind our legislation.
We are not served well in our efforts
to be an informed citizenry by those
who decide for us which information is
or isn't in our best interests rather
than providing us with all relevant
information and allowing us to decide
for ourselves.
Absence of full disclosure sets and has
set (prescription drugs, WMDs, wiretaps, rendition) a bad precedent which ill serves democracy and the democratic process.
Alan Gamblin said:
In your other scenerio you pose the question "if a city wants to annex your neighborhood, the typical ballot doesn't lay out all the taxes". In talking to city officials, they tell me it is the neighborhoods come to them asking to be annexed so they can receive services. So neighborhoods asking for annexation would be well aware of tax potentials.
In this case the largest hospital district in the State of Washington asked voters to join their district which will allow them to build a clinic. What they failed to say in the origianl ballot was that the voters were being asked to give themselves a huge tax increase without any guarantee of a clinic. They failed to disclose that hospital districts continue to charge taxes indefinetly. This is why a Superior Court Judge had King County throw away all the ballots and he re-wrote a new ballot to include the 59 cents for ever $1000 of assessed property value.
If Valley Medical is trying to say they weren't trying to deceive the voters, then why did they have a team of lawyers fighting against putting the word TAX on the ballot?
This is nothing short of a land grab. Valley hired a California Company to help pass a 650% increase on their own taxpayers last year, which added nearly $15,000,000.00 to their hospital district. Now their same California Consultant has created an underhanded campaign to double their size and grab millions more forever!
Voters in Southeast King County need to tell the Renton Hospital to keep away from our tax dollars and quit trying to mislead us. Voters need to say NO to Valley Medical!
Voters in Newcastle, Covington, Kent and Renton remember you voted for these officials, so please clean your own house before your elected officials try to cleanout our cupboards.
George said:
Hospital district board member Gary Kohlwes & all the board members should be accountable to the residents by being Voted in their positions. I live in Renton where the levy pasted. The Board asked for an all mail ballot, first time which they received thinking of a low turn out. The King County election thought there would be a 45 % turn out but only received about 35 % turn out. Try to get a response to e-mails sent to the Valley Medical Hospital. They will not respond to the tax paying Homeowners.
Valley Medical Center is trying to expand its public hospital district. So in May, 45,000 voters will be asked if they're willing to be annexed into the district. What the hospital originally left out in the ballot language is that voting "yes" would increase their property taxes ($177 on a $300,000 home). Critics cried foul--saying it's a sneaky way to raise millions of dollars. A judge sided with opponents, instructing the hospital to tell voters that voting for the annexation would increase their taxes.
KING 5 News Up Front with Robert Mak
Firstly, let me say I am a guest in your city from Autralia, so all I can provide is an outsider's view...
In Australia any proposition for changing boundaries/city ordinances requires FULL DISCLOSURE of the effects, but good and bad, to be provided to all parties.
As an example, the local city wanted to raise taxes by .8 percent a year for three years to "improve services" - the disclosure turned out that the city wanted to pave roads that a developer should have done - it was easier to try and put one over the voters than chase the developer in court.
I am shocked that a proposition such as this changing of hospital boundaries does not require similar levels of disclosure.
A fair and rational outline of the proposition : - along the lines of "your hospital services will improve with additional staff, etc or extend coverage to you but will cost you 59 cents for every $1,000 that your house is valued" may be sufficient.
To me, this smells of underhanded manoevering by the hospital board to put more money in their coffers.
Caveat Emptor (Let the buyer beware)
is just fine for capitalism and the
marketplace of supply and demand.
It should not be the guiding principle
behind our legislation.
We are not served well in our efforts
to be an informed citizenry by those
who decide for us which information is
or isn't in our best interests rather
than providing us with all relevant
information and allowing us to decide
for ourselves.
Absence of full disclosure sets and has
set (prescription drugs, WMDs, wiretaps, rendition) a bad precedent which ill serves democracy and the democratic process.
In your other scenerio you pose the question "if a city wants to annex your neighborhood, the typical ballot doesn't lay out all the taxes". In talking to city officials, they tell me it is the neighborhoods come to them asking to be annexed so they can receive services. So neighborhoods asking for annexation would be well aware of tax potentials.
In this case the largest hospital district in the State of Washington asked voters to join their district which will allow them to build a clinic. What they failed to say in the origianl ballot was that the voters were being asked to give themselves a huge tax increase without any guarantee of a clinic. They failed to disclose that hospital districts continue to charge taxes indefinetly. This is why a Superior Court Judge had King County throw away all the ballots and he re-wrote a new ballot to include the 59 cents for ever $1000 of assessed property value.
If Valley Medical is trying to say they weren't trying to deceive the voters, then why did they have a team of lawyers fighting against putting the word TAX on the ballot?
This is nothing short of a land grab. Valley hired a California Company to help pass a 650% increase on their own taxpayers last year, which added nearly $15,000,000.00 to their hospital district. Now their same California Consultant has created an underhanded campaign to double their size and grab millions more forever!
Voters in Southeast King County need to tell the Renton Hospital to keep away from our tax dollars and quit trying to mislead us. Voters need to say NO to Valley Medical!
Voters in Newcastle, Covington, Kent and Renton remember you voted for these officials, so please clean your own house before your elected officials try to cleanout our cupboards.
Hospital district board member Gary Kohlwes & all the board members should be accountable to the residents by being Voted in their positions. I live in Renton where the levy pasted. The Board asked for an all mail ballot, first time which they received thinking of a low turn out. The King County election thought there would be a 45 % turn out but only received about 35 % turn out. Try to get a response to e-mails sent to the Valley Medical Hospital. They will not respond to the tax paying Homeowners.
George
30-year resident