Question of the Week: Do you agree or disagree with Mahaska Health Partnerships expansion plans?

Construction at Mahaska Health Partnership has passed Phase 1, they now look for funding options for Phase II of the project. (photo D.Hubbard)

Last week we asked if you were concerned with the rising tensions with North Korea. 26 residents voted Yes, that they are concerned about the rising tensions, while 7 voted No. The question of the week poll is unscientific and does not reflect the views of Osky News.

The question this week is on Mahaska Health Partnerships expansion plans.

There is one line of thought that this is needed greatly in the community to help keep the hospital competitive with surrounding communities. The expansion will help to attract and retain employers to the area, and will also aid in bringing new young doctors to the area.

Mahaska Health Partnership claims they will not raise taxes for 5 years, and that there are provisions in place to protect the taxpayers of Mahaska County from increased taxes. The hospital is going forward with expansion with or without the counties assistance on the bonds, which could potentially save them 12 million dollars in interest.

Those against the expansion and the proposed bonding by Mahaska County point towards the risk versus reward. Many claim there is no reason to be adding on some of the facilities proposed stating that those area’s in the hospital are under used currently, why expand those area’s. They also point towards audits that show substantial losses by the hospital over recent years, and taking away some of the bonding capacity if the county would need that at a later time. MHP states those claims are not exactly true as the audits do not include the tax revenue’s they collect.

One thing is for certain, the debate continues. A public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the 3rd floor conference room of the Mahaska County Courthouse on Monday December 6th. You can make your voice heard there and also here by voting  if you think that Yes – the expansion is the right thing to do, or No – there is to much risk involved for the county tax payer.

Now its your turn to decide. Vote in our online poll. The poll will be open until 9 pm next Sunday when we will close the poll and release the final voting numbers. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail them to us at info@oskynews.org.