Residents Vote Against Tax That Would Have Helped Hospital Avoid Closure In 2030
The defeat marks the third time since 2006 that residents have voted down a measure proposed by the Kern Valley Healthcare District to seismically retrofit its facilities to comply with state law.
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern Valley Hospital Tax, Measure C, Fails In Special Election
Measure C, a Kern River Valley parcel tax that would have brought $32 million to the region’s only hospital for renovations, including ones that would have helped it avoid closure by 2030, fell short Tuesday night of what it needed to pass. The annual $98 per parcel tax was trailing by about 14 percentage points, securing about 52 percent of the vote at the end of the night with all precincts reporting. It needed two-thirds voter approval to pass...The defeat marks the third time since 2006 that residents have voted down a measure proposed by the Kern Valley Healthcare District to seismically retrofit its facilities to comply with state law. A similar measure lost by about 70 votes in 2006; in 2010 it failed by securing 54 percent of the yes vote, about 12 percentage points short. (Pierce, 6/6)
In other hospital news —
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Voters Poised To Approve $250 Parcel Tax For Sonoma Valley Hospital
Voters in the Sonoma Valley Health Care District were poised to pass a $250 parcel tax Tuesday, three months after rejecting a similar measure to provide additional funding to the Sonoma Valley Hospital. With 31 of 45 precincts reporting at 10 p.m., the “yes” votes for Measure E were at 69.4 percent. Two-thirds of the district voters must approve the measure for passage. Kelly Mather, president and CEO of Sonoma Valley Hospital, had said before the vote the parcel tax was necessary for the hospital’s viability. Measure E increases the parcel tax from $195 a year to $250. (Rahaim, 6/6)