The proposed expansion of the Joseph Brant memorial Hospital will cost a total of $312 million. In October, JBMH officially asked the City of Burlington to support the expansion with a $60 million city contribution. This is in addition to $60 million of fundraising that will be done for a total 'local share' of $120 million.
At the December 8, the Chamber and Burlington Economic Development Corporation presented a joint delegation to the City of Burlington Budget and Strategic Planning meeting (the complete delegation can be found on the Chamber website). The thrust of the delegation was to express support for the city investing in the proposed Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital expansion. The delegation went further in making a series of recommendations that the city should follow regarding its investment in the project. Some of these recommendations include:
- identifying the type and range of services to be offered at the hospital
- exploring a range of funding options in an effort to minimize the tax impact
- establishing performance measures and benchmarks for hospital care
- making the hospital a centre for innovation and research with respect to teaching and technology commercialization
The B&SP committee voted unanimously to support the $60 million 'ask' from the hospital. On Monday, December 14, City Council also unanimously approved the motion. The details of how the $60 million will be raised are still to be determined.
In simple terms, if the $60 million is raised through a tax levy that is spread over 10 years, the tax impact each year per $100,000 current value assessment will be:
|
Residential |
$19.18 |
1.78% |
|
Commercial |
$29.74 |
1.13% |
|
Industrial |
$45.27 |
1.19% |
Both the Chamber and BEDC have offered to work closely with the city and JBMH to ensure Burlington receives the type of facility and level of health care it needs.