Voter-approved upgrades at Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez, CO, are on hold because interest rates are too high, The Durango Herald reports.
In May, voters approved a ballot measure to drop a sunset provision on a .04% sales tax levied by the Montezuma County Hospital District. The sales tax was approved by voters in 2015 and had been set to sunset in 2030.
The approved ballot measure allows the hospital district to restructure its bond debt to finance $23 million in hospital improvements.
It specifically requires the funding be used for a new emergency department, remodel of the surgery center, and for other infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.
However, to move forward with the refinancing and construction projects, interest rates must be 5% or lower, as required by the ballot measure.
Currently, the necessary rate is not available, said MCHD Chairman Dean Mathews, causing the projects to be on hold. Read more.
