Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES — Roosevelt County commissioners are on the agenda to approve an ordinance for extending a bond for gross receipts taxes for the local hospital at today’s special meeting.
The ordinance reads that it will extend “the imposition of the county’s local hospital gross receipts tax until July 1, 2037, so to permit the Roosevelt County Special Hospital District to refund and redeem certain outstanding loans dated Dec. 1, 1999, to obtain additional financing to fund proposed hospital expansion projects.”
Roosevelt General Hospital Interim CEO Bo Beames and Erik Harrigan of RBC Capital Markets visited commissioners at a commission meeting earlier this month to ask them to approve giving notice of the ordinance to amend the bond.
Harrigan said the hospital’s finance plan calls for the issuance of $8.8 million of gross receipts tax bonds backed by the hospital. The funding will go towards expanding the hospital’s emergency room services and tying its entrance into the RGH Clinic. Other long-term goals for the hospital include expanding the clinic, bringing in more specialty doctors and eventually, making all private hospital rooms.
“The hospital needs are definitely there,” said Beames at Feb. 10 commission meeting. “The needs of the hospital have grown and changed. You have significant needs in the emergency room, first of all; that’s the biggest thing.”
The following are other items listed on the agenda for today’s meeting at 9 a.m. in the county courthouse:
• Update, discussion, direction and action if needed on 2017 legislative session items and bills
• Consideration of a resolution supporting Senate Bill 299 regarding changing the definitions of the Whistleblower Protection Act.
• Consideration of an ordinance amending property tax rebate benefiting low income taxpayers
• Request for approval of a contract renewal with Securus Technologies for phone services
Commissioners will hold a workshop with county officials following the meeting to discuss department needs.
