PHD – Fact Sheet

Information sheet regarding a potential Orcas Island – Public Hospital District

Special election on April 24th, 2018 to vote on whether to:

• Create an Orcas Island Public Hospital District.
• Elect five commissioners to manage this District, if it passes.

At least 977 voters must participate in the vote in order for the vote to be valid. This is based on 40% of the previous general election, which was the November 2017 election. In that election, 2,442 voters participated.  The number of people who needed to sign the petition to place this on the ballot was based on the 2016 election and required a larger number.

The commissioners are elected only if a majority of those voting on the proposed hospital district vote “yes.”

• There are five districts. All candidate positions are “at large,” meaning every voter on the island votes for the candidates for all five districts. One candidate will be elected from each district.  The districts have no geographical reference. They are there for the purpose of staggering the terms of the commissioners.
• The terms are for six years, with the exception of the first set of commissioners (in order to stagger the terms). District elections are in the odd years, so every other year. The candidate with the fewest number of votes will serve through 2019. That office would be on the 2019 General Election ballot. The next two commissioners (the 3^rd and 4^th place finishers) would serve through the 2021 General Election. The top two vote-getters would serve through the 2023 General Election ballot.
• One commissioner will be elected for each district. Richard Fralick, Pegi Groundwater, and Patricia Miller will each be commissioners, for they are the only candidates running in their districts. Each candidate chose which district in which they wanted to run. They could choose that after seeing who else has already put their name in.

The elected commissioners have no obligations to the existing clinics or the contracts that those clinics and foundations might have with other parties, including the University of Washington. They can choose to renegotiate existing contracts, start with a new contract, or even  select a new provider. A commissioner’s obligation is to those who elected them, not to anyone else.

If the maximum allowed tax is levied, the district would collect $1,614,400. The commissioners have the ability to levy up to $0.75/$1,000 in property valuation. Orcas Island has an assessed property valuation for 2018 of $2,152,529,000. A mill levy of $0.75 would generate $1,614,400. The commissioners could go to the voters in the future and request additional funding of up to another $0.75. That is available only if approved by the voters in a separate vote. The commissioners do not have to levy the full $0.75. They can set the levy at different amounts each year but at no more than $0.75/$1,000.  The levy could not be imposed prior to the 2019 tax year, meaning that tax money would not be received until April of 2019. The commissioners have the authority to borrow money and repay that with future tax revenues. Keep in mind that the $0.75/$1000 is not a fixed number. It can be affected by various state laws such as those that limit any increases to 1% year-over-year growth plus new construction, Prop 747, and changes in property valuation. As a result, the $0.75/$1000 is an approximation and:

• The mill levy for most of Orcas Island for 2017 was $7.14/$1,000.
• The mill levy for most of Orcas Island for 2018 is $7.88/$1,000.
• If the voters pass the hospital district, the mill levy for 2019 could increase by up to another $0.75.

State law allows for a property tax. State law does not allow for other types of taxes, such as sales taxes, to be used for supporting health care needs.

The commissioners can use the money they levy for medically-related expenses on behalf of the island. The commissioners have wide latitude in what that means.  Basically, any choices that are medically-related are eligible for financial support. The voters control this by carefully choosing who the commissioners are.  Eligible services might include:

• UW medical clinic
• Shinstrom clinic
• Someone else’s clinic
• Weekend clinic hours
• Extended clinic hours
• Naturopathic physicians
• Alternative medicine clinics
• Therapists of various specialities
• Reproductive health clinics
• Substance abuse clinics
• Mental health clinics
• Assisted living facility
• Children’s health
• Health screening
• At-home care visits
• Dental care
• Eye care
• Medical buildings (either purchased or leased)
• Ambulance services
• Taxis to and from medical care
• Ferry rides to and from medical care
• Clinics in Anacortes or Friday Harbor

The list could go on. The point is that virtually anything medically-related can be subsidized. It is up to the commissioners to decide what is most important and to balance that with the concerns of the taxpayers.  They will not be able to fund everyone who needs help. Again, it is up to us — the voters — to choose the commissioners wisely.

Most candidates for commissioner have indicated that their priority is to provide support for primary care and, if funds are available, urgent care on a 24/7 basis. Some are willing to consider supporting other types of care, if there are available funds and if the community shows support. We asked the candidates about this, and it is helpful to look at each of their answers.  See Candidate Interviews.

The candidates (listed in the order they filed):

The voters will select one commissioner from each district.

As required by law, the commissioners will hire a superintendent who will be employed to carry out the activities of the District.