Drafter
Clerk 09/24/2024
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A MOTION relating to the review and assessment of the county hospital's operating, facility, and capital needs to inform potential utilization of the county's authority to levy a councilmanic property tax as allowable under RCW 36.62.090.
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WHEREAS, Harborview Medical Center is maintained by King County to improve the health and well-being of the entire community and to provide quality healthcare to the most vulnerable, and
WHEREAS, in November 2020, King County voters authorized $1.74 billion in capital bonds to fund facility infrastructure and health and safety improvements at Harborview Medical Center, and
WHEREAS, in 2023, the facility improvement program at Harborview Medical Center funded by the voter approved bond levy was revised due to unprecedented cost growth following the COVID-19 global pandemic, and the entirety of facility and capital improvements planned in 2020 could no longer be accommodated in the $1.74 billion voter approved levy, and
WHEREAS, the council approved a rescoped facility improvement program plan for the county hospital via Motion 16435, which prioritized voter approved bond funding for construction of a new multistory medical tower, renovation of essential services currently located in older hospital spaces, and expansion of county spaces located in older county hospital facilities, leaving some 2020 planned facility improvements unfunded, and
WHEREAS, in 2024 the Washington state Legislature voted to amend RCW 36.62.090, authorizing the councilmanic county hospital property tax for operation, maintenance, and capital expenses of the county hospital, and any outpatient clinics operated by the hospital, and for the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued for such purposes, as the levy previously authorized only maintenance costs for county hospitals, and
WHEREAS, completing the planned 2020 facility improvement plan for the county hospital that included facility infrastructure an...

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