On Tuesday, hospital president and CEO Brian Whitfield announced that following conversations with County Commissioner and Chairman, John Williams, the hospital will not be able to pursue a new lodging tax to fund the construction of a new hospital or to rehabilitate the existing hospital.
According to Williams, the county will need to pursure the 2% lodging tax themselves, possibly going a step further and asking voters for another 1/4 cent sales tax. Why? So the county can pay legal judgments and settlements that are coming.
Whitfield released the following statement today: "For approximately a month now, we have gone back and forth with the Board of County Commissioners with several proposals on how we might secure the financing necessary for a new hospital or to rehab the existing facility. As has been for nearly three years, we have worked well with our commissioners on ways to guarantee healthcare.
We have explored multiple avenues that would allow us to secure funding for the hospital. We have looked at redistribution of existing taxes being collected, passing a new lodging tax, and possibly the passage of a new 1/4 cent sales tax. In unison with our county leadership, we wanted to explore ways that we could make this work and not create additional tax burdens on the people of this county.
What we have learned is that to redistribute the existing lodging tax that has been in place since 2002, becoming permanent in 2012, places too much of a risk that legal challenges could result in the entire 3% being lost. That would be devastating to the county as a whole for that tax revenue benefits all of the county.
We explored passing a new 2% lodging tax and possibly a 1/4 cent sales tax - but this week, I was informed that this is not an option, either. Chairman Williams informed me that the county has confirmed that it will be facing multi-million dollar judgments against the county and Jail Trust, respectively, that will require the county itself to seek voter support in passing the 2% lodging tax and 1/4 cent sales tax to pay those judgments.
While this news is disappointing, and while we were hopeful that this was a path forward for the hospital, the reality is that it simply is not any longer. We, therefore, will regroup and take a different approach.
My team and I are meeting with legislators, state officials, and setting up meetings with similarly situated hospitals in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana to take a closer look at their successful navigation through some of the same challenges we are in. An old building, broken infrastructure, and high operational costs are not something only Idabel, Oklahoma has experienced. Others have navigated these challenges before and we will find a path forward.
In the coming days, I will be releasing some information on very much needed funding that is coming to our hospital. I am encouraged and I have no doubt that the future of the hospital remains bright.
Look, I have been here for almost three years and when I took over, I was told our doors would be closing in less than 90 days. June 1st of 2022 came and went and we worked extremely hard to cut close to $4 million from our overhead and did so without a single job lost. We were told that we would not be able to secure a new lease on the hospital and we did. We are no strangers to challenges and the harder the challenge the harder this team works to ensure our success. We know what it is like to feel all odds are against us but we have also seen what we can do when we work together and when our community rallys around us. Together, we're going to be just fine - and with the Good Lord's help, we're going to be here for many, many years to come. Seventy-one years of serving McCurtain County is no small feat. "
Mr. Whitfield said that additional information would soon be released about the hospital and plans forward.
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