San Diego County Health Care Districts Form Bond Authority
The Tri-City and Palomar Pomerado health care districts in San Diego County will join a new debt-issuing authority to help reduce the costs to taxpayers of hospital expansions, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/29).
Tri-City and Palomar Pomerado health care districts over time could sell about $1 billion in bonds to the North San Diego County Health Facilities Financing Authority, which will sell the bonds to Citigroup. Citigroup then will bring the bonds to market (Klawonn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/28).
The Tri-City board of directors approved the plan on Thursday. Palomar Pomerado's board approved the plan April 11.
The CEO and CFO from each of the health care districts will sit on the board (San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/29).
Kathleen Leak, Palomar Pomerado's bond counsel, said the bond authority could reduce costs by avoiding hiring different financial firms to handle each bond issue and by garnering more favorable interest rates from the bond market.
The authority first will sell about $80 million in bonds for Palomar Pomerado. Residents of the health care district in November 2004 approved a $496 million bond package to fund hospital construction projects.
A Tri-City proposal to increase property taxes for health care district residents to repay a $400 million bond package could go to voters in May 2006 (San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/28).