Whereas regional hospital districts were created by provincial legislation to raise a local share of capital costs for hospital equipment and building through property taxation with the local share historically held at 40 for regional hospital capital projects with the Province contributing 60; And whereas local governments have limited ways to generate funding to pay for local services and infrastructure since property taxes are the primary source of revenue and are being stretched to meet the diverse demands local governments already face and cannot sustain the increased load in meeting hospital board expenditures: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the provincial government to acknowledge that property tax revenue is an unsuitable avenue to fund hospital infrastructure renewal projects, and prioritize the urgent review of the historic cost sharing ratio.
Ministry of Health Regional hospital districts continue to be key partners in building and maintaining local healthcare infrastructure. The amount of regional hospital districts financial contributions towards capital projects has historically been 40. The Ministry is aware that some Regional Hospital Districts RHDs have requested a review of and amendments to the Hospital District Act in order to clarify a number of issues including funding. The Ministry will proceed with this review when the legislative agenda permits, and will consult with the RHDs as part of the process.