After announcing a Special Board Meeting to vote on a resolution to call for a Tulare hospital bond election, the Tulare Regional Medical Center has posted the agenda for the upcoming meeting on its website, including an outline of the proposed bond.
If adopted by the Tulare Local Health Care District Board of Directors as proposed, the election and bond would:
- submit to residents of the Tulare Local Health Care District a bond proposal not to exceed $55m “for the purpose of financing and refinancing the expansion, improvement, acquisiton, construction, equipping and renovation of health facilities of the District.”
- call for an all-mail ballot election, in the same manner as the Measure H bond in Visalia, for August 30, 2016,
- require that proceeds from the bonds not be used for administrators’ salaries,
- require that the Chief Financial Officer of the TLHCD file a report to the board no later than five months after the end of each fiscal year, but would not require a bond oversight committee.
The special meeting will be held in the conference room at Evolutions Fitness & Wellness Center, 1425 E. Prosperity Ave., in Tulare.
The hospital states that the $55 million bond will “enable the district to complete its tower and meet the seismic mandates of SB 1953 to ensure survival of the hospital in the event of an earthquake.”
It also states that “additional GO bonds were always going to be required. The 2005 funds have been exhausted and construction since then has been funded with internal equity.”
The meeting agenda and proposed resolution and ballot measure are available below.
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“require that the Chief Financial Officer of the TLHCD file a report to the board no later than five months after the end of each fiscal year, but would not require a bond oversight committee.” Of course this board does not want an oversight committee, especially one that would ACTUALLY due its due diligence in overseeing where monies are ACTUALLY going. The arrogance of this board is way beyond imagination.
Can we try to come together as a community and actually make this happen instead of always arguing, fighting with each other, and always being on the negative side??? Barbara, you haven’t even given this a chance and your already dissing it. I don’t get it. The meeting hasn’t even happened yet.
This Board has had YEARS of chances over chances over chances and has yet to this day operated with complete transparency or even minimal transparency in any matter. This meeting will be the same as all the others. Put even someone who views with Board with such negativity can’t help but hope that they get their act together and do the right thing. They can start off by insisting on an effective NEW oversight committee in regards to the new bond money that they are seeking as well as finding out what REALLY happened to the previous bond money that we continue to pay taxes on. TRANSPARANCY AND HONESTY is the key to negating my so-called negativity.
Thanks VV posting the agenda. I agree with Larry. We can’t always be fighting and let everyone else laugh at us in Tulare. All that bitterness got us nowhere. We finally have a chance. I have a lot of friends working at the hospital and they ALLtell me that things are really different there. Much better than it’s ever been. We owe it to them to be supportive. What are we going to do if there is an accident or a stroke. Where will we go?
Larry this bond WILL NOT require an oversight committee. Remember that TOWER OF SHAME report from way back one month ago, when the grand jury said that the Tulare District WITHHELD information from its last committee?
If things are so different why would the Board not encourage an oversight committee? Do you expect me to believe that the CFO, whose paycheck is cut by the hospital, will be unbiased when he looks at how the hospital spends its bond money?
But if we don’t pass the bond, the hospital will shut down! Kaweah Delta is using the same scare tactics in Visalia, but Mr. Benzeevi knows that’s a lie there too. Until they can get their act together, I’m going to follow his example.
I will not support a new bond. This hospital board has been very dishonest with the public and should not be trusted.
The answer is really quite simple, if this hospital wants new bond money then in addition to insisting on a NEW OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO OVERSEE THE SPENDING OF THE BOND MONEY Tulare needs to RECALL this current Board due to total lack of trust and elect ALL NEW BOARD MEMBERS. Until that is done I will not support a new bond for our hospital.
The board and HCCA has started this bond campaign with tricks and lies They changed the proposed language because their own auditor told them last fall that Tower can be finished with $ 30 million. Rest $ 25 million will be used to pay all the old bills ( over $11 m) , use for operations or line the same pockets of people in charge of $85 m . If the hospital was really profitable as Benzeevi keeps saying , why they need this extra $25 m. Good Tulareans keep getting DUPED by this gang. Agree , all 5 of them need to be recalled first . Then The voters can approve a smaller bond and finish the Tower .
I vote No, No, No !! My mother had a procedure at TDH and the facility was dirty and the grounds were neglected ie: weeds, trash, dirty entry at main lobby. If this is what 85 Million gets count me out!! I have great respect for the employees and most of the Physicians who practice there. However there seems to be one who wants complete control of both the Board and TDH itself? The current Board needs to resign and term limits need to be enacted to stop the empire building. Look at the amount of land holdings one member has amassed since coming to Tulare? Give HCCA the keys to the place and all Tulare looses. I can’t imagine what Dr. Charlie Mathias would do if he knew that his land donation for the construction of Tulare District Hospital for the citizens of Tulare was being given to HCCA a for profit organization who benefits who? I don’t buy the Boards BS that they did not know about where the 85 Million went. Seriously you were elected by the voters to be our eyes, ears, and voice, for TDH. As for a board members family member being given a job by HCCA can you spell nepotism! Sign me up for one. As my parents are aging with all the turmoil at TRMC they will be going down the road to KDDH for any hospitalization as well as my relatives, children, and friends have chosen to do ! By the way they are all life longTulareans. If you think they are going to a place where they do not value your safety with inadequate smoke detectors, dirty kitchens, and grounds, how can they care about my family!,