Borough Assembly member Dave Jack has proposed changes to several ordinances that would create additional responsibilities for the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) and its board of directors.
Another amendment would change the necessary qualifications needed to be a member of the WMC board.
Jack introduced his amendments at an Assembly meeting last month, at which time Assembly members decided to discuss the proposal at a later date. The topic is on the agenda for the March 27 Assembly meeting.
One of Jack’s proposed ordinance changes relates to the WMC’s annual reports to the Assembly. Jack wants WMC to include its “reserves or other excess revenue” in those annual reports, according to the proposed ordinance change.
This excess revenue or reserves would be retained in an account to provide for future unanticipated expenses or expenditures, the proposed amendment states.
Jack said the Assembly would not take those reserves, but control how they are spent.
“We need, as an Assembly, to know what is there, what revenues are there. We have absolutely no idea now,” he said.
The City and Borough of Wrangell has been granted a $24 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help build a new hospital.
Jack said, while he cannot speak for the rest of the Assembly, he personally thinks it would be inappropriate to proceed any further on building a new hospital until the city knows the WMC will be able to pay back the multi-million-dollar loan.
Jack said his proposed ordinance change will help ensure residents that their tax dollars won’t have to be used in order to pay back that loan.
“The main reason for this is, is that the people voted to build a hospital, to be built by revenue from the hospital, not from tax payers or raising taxes,” he said.
WMC Chief Executive Officer Noel Selle-Rea doesn’t feel the change to the ordinance proposed by Assemblyman Jack is necessary. He said the change doesn’t make sense, because the Assembly is already given WMC’s financial reports.
“They have the information they need,” Selle-Rea said.
The WMC does not often tap into its reserves, which are under the ideal amount, Selle-Rea said. He said the WMC is “far below” the 120-days of reserves it would like to have, and doesn’t have any excess money to hide.
“We don’t have a big pot of money somewhere hidden,” he said.
While he doesn’t believe the change to ordinance is needed, Selle-Rae said he would be happy to sit down with the Assembly to discuss the issue.
Another ordinance change proposed by Assemblyman Jack would require WMC employees and administration to be “subject to borough personnel policies and grievance procedures.”
The current ordinance allows for the WMC board to “have power and authority to make such rules and regulation as it seems advisable or necessary for the efficient and safe operation of the hospital.”
Jack’s third proposed change would amend the ordinance surrounding the WMC board of directors’ membership. The change would remove the current rule stating any WMC employee or someone who provides medical or health services to the hospital and long-term care facility cannot be a member on the board.
Jack said that the ordinance as it stands now, is “too restrictive.” Other town boards require members only to have “the same qualification as necessary to be a municipal voter.”
Jack believes the hospital board should follow the rules of all other local boards.
“I think they should all be the same,” Jack said. “And that’s basically what that is doing.”
Again, Selle-Rea does not believe this ordinance change is necessary, and said it would be inappropriate for a physician, for example, to be on the WMC board. The board of directors could receive physician input, when needed, without having to change the city ordinance, he said.
Selle-Rea said he believes these proposed changes come from a “fundamental trust issue” between the city and the WMC, as discussed in a report released earlier this year.
The report was created by a private consultant hired by WMC, and based on interviews the consultant had with representatives from the WMC and the City and Borough of Wrangell.
That trust issue should be addressed and discussed before changes to city ordinances are made, Selle-Rea said.
“What is broken, and lets try to find it and fix it,” he said.
However, Jack said these changes are not targeted toward the WMC on a personal level. He said they are needed in order to make the WMC board adhere to the same standards as other public boards in town.
“The hospital board should be treated as everybody else, they’re not special,” Jack said.
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