In November, the Montezuma County Hospital District will ask voters for permission to access state grants for medical and infrastructure improvements.<\/p>\n
As a government agency collecting a mill levy, MCHD is not eligible for state grant money if the amount causes total tax revenues to exceed yearly spending limits under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.<\/p>\n
Voter approval is needed to override TABOR in order to keep grant funds that exceed its spending limits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not applying for some state grants we qualify for as a rural care provider because we know the amount will push us over the limit,\u201d said MCHD board member Dean Matthews during a special meeting Monday.<\/p>\n
The board emphasized that they are not asking for a tax increase.<\/p>\n
If voters approve the measure, the district would be freed up to apply for and obtain additional grant funds that would otherwise be unavailable due to the TABOR revenue cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cState grants help us pay for things that are too big for our budget, like replacing aging boilers and updating infrastructure,\u201d said board member Bill Thompson.<\/p>\n
State grant money is often distributed by the Department of Local Affairs and is a separate revenue source from the mill levy.<\/p>\n
The district said that if the measure passes \u2014 sometimes called \u201cdeBrucing\u201d after TABOR author Douglas Bruce \u2014 it only allows the district access to additional state grant funding.<\/p>\n
The board said that even with a successful deBrucing the hospital district\u2019s tax revenues are still limited by state statute to a 5.5 percent growth rate from the previous year\u2019s total.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat revenue limit stays no matter what; we are not asking for a mill increase,\u201d said MCHD board member Fred DeWitt.<\/p>\n
He said the hospital district is the only government entity in Montezuma County that has not been deBruced.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will benefit the community; it will be used for equipment for patient care, and it will allow us to go for the bigger grants,\u201d said MCHD board member Shawna McLaughlin.<\/p>\n
The board is appointing a special committee to help promote the ballot measure and provide information about it to the public.<\/p>\n