Hospital taxes set to increase for this year to pay for "future" projects
By Timothy Schafer
Like baby birds straining in the nest to get more worms than their siblings, another tax requisition besets beleaguered Nelson taxpayers, the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District board announced recently.
Property owners in the city will be paying around $24 more — on a house assessed at $300,000 — on their “hospital” tax bill this year, going up to $68.58 from $44.01 in 2010.
The increase was to instituted to feed a total tax requisition of $3.6 million this year to the board — of which Nelson pays 13.1 per cent, or $473,684 — to help pay for projected costs associated with two major projects, one which could include a new regional hospital for the Regional District of Central Kootenay.
“The board acknowledges that there will be some major capital expenditures on the horizon,” said WKBRHD secretary Jim Gustafson, also the chief administrative officer for the RDCK.
There are two projects that the Interior Health Authority has identified, one of which is the planning process for acute care services in the West Kootenay Boundary. That could mean creating one central hospital site with two satellite hospitals, or major upgrading of the two existing hospitals in Nelson and Trail.
The other expenditure is phase two of the $5.5 million Kootenay Lake Hospital project in Nelson, completing the major portion of construction on the addition for new emergency department space.
“We now have these huge capital expenditures on the horizon, so rather than wait until the money is needed, the board is collecting … to offset that future expense,” Gustafson said.
A new hospital could be up to $200 million to construct, while upgrading the two existing ones might run the district $100 million. If that happens, the hospital board will have to come up with 40 per cent of that figure.
That tax increase, which will likely be in effect for several years, will be swallowed with the two per cent property tax increase City council approved for the 2011 fiscal year — about $90 per year for the average homeowner in Nelson — as well as increases to water (nine per cent), sewer (seven per cent) and Nelson Hydro (9.6 per cent).
The RDCK’s 2011-2012 financial plan delivered a budget that only saw a 2.1 per cent increase. That tax increase does not affect Nelsonites, however, as they will be paying $9.19 less on their tax bill this year — or around $392.95 — based on an average home assessment for 2011 at $271,000.
Four debts have been retired by the Central Kootenay Regional Hospital District board, meaning the 2011 tax requisition is a refund of $174,139, instead of the $395,918 the board collected in taxes last year.
A further tax reduction of around $14 will be taken off the bill for Nelsonites and other citizens of the RDCK.
West Kootenay-Boundary Regional Hospital District
The West Kootenay-Boundary Regional Hospital District is a separate entity from the Regional District of Central Kootenay.
Seventeen RDCK directors, along with the 13 directors of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary make up the board of directors of the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District.
The main purpose of the WKBRHD is to provide funding for Hospital equipment and capital projects.
The Hospital District pays for 40 per cent of the cost of approved projects while the remaining 60 per cent share is funded by the provincial government or through donations provided by local hospital foundations.
The Interior Health Authority proposes projects and priorities each year, with a list developed in consultation between the IHA and WKBRHD.
Phase two at Kootenay Lake Hospital
Renovations for the redevelopment of Kootenay Lake Hospital’s first floor include an upgraded and expanded emergency department, which will significantly reduce congestion and improve patient care.
The upgrades also include renovation to accommodate the addition of a CT scanner, which will improve access to diagnostic care for Kootenay residents and improve wait times for medical imaging across Interior Health.
Phase I will include relocation of the mechanical shaft running up the southeast face of the hospital and some initial excavation work. Phase II is the major portion of construction on the addition for new emergency department space. Phase III includes renovations of the old operating room area for the new CT Scanner Suite.
The emergency department at Kootenay Lake Hospital will triple in size from 291 square metres (3,132 square feet) to 924 square metres (9,946 square feet) to ensure that the projected increase in demand is met. The workload for the emergency department is projected to go from more than 13,000 patient visits to almost 19,000 patient visits by 2028.
While any major project is contingent on a number of factors, including weather, the anticipated completion for the development is this spring.
Funding for the redevelopment of Kootenay Lake Hospital includes $8.3 million from the Province and Interior Health, $5.5 million from West Kootenay-Boundary Regional Hospital District (WKBRHD) and $1.5 million through the Kootenay Lake Hospital Foundation for a new CT scanner.
