El Paso County Hospital District officials ask for slight tax increase in budget

Officials with UMC presented their proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 to commissioners court.

The budget calls for a slight increase in taxes.

UMC is projecting $635 Million in expenses and $630 Million in revenue. That coupled with the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act has officials worried.

“We’ll have a lot of work to do if some sort of repeal happens or anything of that nature,” El Paso Children’s Hospital CEO Mark Amox said.

UMC presented county commissioners with six different tax rate increase options. Ultimately it came down to these two: Option D: 7.46% increase which would equal $21.66 per year ($1.80 more from last year) Option E: 3.7% increase which would equal $10.75 per year ($0.90 more from last year)

“Given what we see on the horizon, this is simply just to try and stabilize it. It will still require action on our part,” UMC CEO Jacob Cintron said.

County Judge Veronica Escobar and commissioners Carlos Leon and David Stout voted for Option D. County commissioner Vince Perez voted for Option E, and county commissioner Andrew Haggerty was absent for the vote.

“It’s not ideal. I know it’s not popular, but it’s the right thing to do because we have to protect this as a safety net in order to have a healthy community,” Escobar said.

The proposed tax increases are not set in stone. county officials say there will be community meetings later this month, where people can give their input.