We got news the other day that a rating agency has lowered their credit rating of our county hospital.
That means that we will have to pay higher interest rates on future bonds and the current bond holders have less value than they bargained for.
The hospital chief executive was reported to have said that there would be no problem since they are not planning to sell any more bonds soon.
Already sold
He has already sold the $130 million of bonds that the county commissioners authorized to build three new clinics and remodel part of the hospital.
However he has stated that the hospital may have to “repurpose” the money for the clinics since his plans have changed.
In fact ground has not been broken on any of the three clinics. They are still being thought through. We have not been given a date when they will start construction.
Why did he sell the bonds and start our obligation to pay interest when he was not ready for the money?
Could it be that he knew of financial problems at the hospital that the bond companies did not know of and that he sold the bonds early before the rating companies would learn of the difficulties and thus reduce our credit rating?
Why else would he have sold the bonds when he was not ready to use the money?
This may be worth looking into.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
More importantly, where is that money right now? Can he – or the Hospital Board – be trusted with it?
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No.
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These negotiations between Childrens’ and UMC have been held in secret. Transparency is nil. If CC did this, there would be Open Meetings Act violations and the AG all over it.
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Prediction. Valenti will try to use the bond money to acquire Children’s Hospital, which will then use the proceeds from the sale to pay down what UMC claims is owed to them by Children’s. That would enable Valenti to create the appearance of having cleaned up UMC’s financial mess.
Think of it as creative financial restructuring. That’s the kind of Ponzi scheme or shell game that has become so prevalent in government.
Regardless how it is accomplished, I believe a hostile takeover of Children’s Hospital by UMC is in the works behind closed doors.
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