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 and 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 which 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 with a recommendation, in consultation with regional hospital districts, to amend current policy accordingly.
Ministry of Health Regional hospital districts RHDs continue to be key partners in building and maintaining local healthcare infrastructure. The expected amount of RHDs financial contributions towards capital projects has historically been 40 percent. The Ministry of Health is aware that some RHDs have requested a review of and amendments to the Hospital District Act the Act in order to clarify a number of issues, including funding. The Ministry recognizes that the Act and its regulation need to be updated and aligned with current practices. If the Ministry receives direction that there is an opportunity to amend this Act, then consultations with RHDs and a review of the historic cost-sharing model for capital funding will be part of the amendment process.