The writers of the local Lake County (FL) blog, Right Side of the Lake, just came out with an eblast supporting three candidates for the North Lake County Hospital District Board who are all Hospital supporters and want to continue the 1-mill tax without any specific improvements.
In contrast, I have written of my support of three alternate local Tea Party members who are running for the Board, and they are listed below.
You can get more details at www.NorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict.com or at the Faceblook page "FixLakeTaxes".
Below is what I posted on the Right Side blog in response to their "left sided" article:
So, for the first time, Right Side endorses people who all want the hospital tax to continue without any specific improvements in oversight or accountability.
Here are reasons why I want Frances Grossi, Walter Dobruck, Jr. and Richard Riker to be elected to the Board of the North Lake County Hospital District:
- Both hospitals that split about $10.5 million in 1 mill property taxes this year are "non-profits" yet they have shown millions in investments, assets and funding of facades, spending on huge ads in local papers to sell high value medical services, etc. Part of the deal when being a non-profit hospital (i.e. not paying property and other taxes at all) is that THEY are supposed to absorb the costs for indigent care. So, if a baby is left without treatment, the hospital is not meeting their non-profit obligations and should lose that status.
- There hasn't been a vote by local taxpayers on this constant tax in 20 or more years. It is time to have a referendum. This law is a redistribution of taxpayer assets and represents socialism in a local level.
- The law that establishes the District and the tax is vague and very badly written, so it does not define what is an acceptable or non-acceptable use of taxpayer funds. In contrast, Disney Corp. gives out local grants to charities for kids, AND they have very specific rules about what is an allowable expenditure. But, our Hospitals have no such requirements, and they could spend the funds on a trip to the Bahamas, and the current Hospital District Board wouldn't even know and would not take action anyway. Thus the current Board, except for Marilyn Bainter, is avoiding any responsibility to ensure oversight of taxpayer funds. They are all "cronies" of the hospitals, and do not represent taxpayers at all.
- The Hospital District law does not mandate a separate set of accounting so that all spending can be traced and verified. Instead, the hospitals dump their share into their general account and no one from the Board has ever (to my knowledge) verified exactly where the funds went. Funds can go to the parent company of Waterman Hospital, or in the past could have been used to fund a new hospital in the Villages that benefits mostly Sumter county residents and not Lake County residents. In such cases, the Board has not investigated this, has not ensured proper "audit trails" or attempted to define what were allowable expenses.
This is why, as a former corporate audit manager and Certified Internal Auditor with 20 years experience, believe a total change in the Board is needed, and I support Frances Grossi, Walter Dobruck, Jr. and Richard Riker to be elected to the Board of the North Lake County Hospital District. The hospital lobbyists wrote the original law so that it was so vague, and Right Side of the Lake, all the current Board members, and the candidates should all be embarrassed over the lack of oversight of the funds. All the current board except for Marilyn Bainter should resign, since for two years they have refused to make any improvements in the regulations. Additionally, the hospital managers could have developed a set of procedures to ensure adequate tracking, held public hearings on what was an acceptable expenditure and improved oversight and transparency over the spending on their own, but they have not.
Vance Jochim
www.FiscalRangers.com or get more details at www.NorthLakeCountyHospitalDistrict.com .
