On Thursday, June 2, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing to consider approval of the sale of $700 million in bonds by Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital and its affiliates. Approval of the bonds won’t commit the taxpayers of Guilford County to repayment – instead, the bonds will be the obligation of the Cone Health system.
Some proceeds from the sale of the bonds will be used to purchase the medical office building at 709 Green Valley Road in Greensboro at a cost of about $10.8 million, as well as the construction – and equipping – of a central sterile processing facility on the campus of Cone Hospital that’s estimated to cost about $10 million.
The money will also be used for the design, construction and equipping of Cone Health’s ambulatory heart and vascular treatment tower on the Cone Hospital campus at a cost of approximately $175 million.
Other capital improvements to Wesley Long Hospital and Cone Hospital will use an estimated $55 million of the money raised by the bond sale. Cone Health also plans to use a majority of the funds to refinance loans for previous projects at various locations.
The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 requires that the Guilford County Board of Commissioners hold a public hearing regarding the issuance of this type of bond – which is actually issued through the “Public Finance Authority,” a government financing agency that operates out of Wisconsin but that handles bond offerings from all over the country.
Unlike General Obligation bonds issued by local governments, these types of bonds aren’t backed by the faith and credit of the local government where the bond projects take place. These bonds, therefore, present no risk to the taxpayer of any state or local government. Instead, they’re paid back out of revenue from the funded projects.
The Public Finance Authority was created by local governments “for the purpose of issuing tax-exempt and taxable conduit bonds for public and private entities nationwide for projects that are important to the community.”
The authority has come under some criticism by Forbes Magazine and others in recent years after there were some high-profile bond defaults that used the authority as the authorizing agency.
The Public Finance Authority is sponsored by the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the Wisconsin Counties Association and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.
In the past, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners has routinely allowed these types of bonds to move forward – but the public hearing will give everyone the opportunity to express any concerns.
The hearing on the bonds will be held during the board’s June meeting in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room on the second floor of the Old Guilford County Court House in downtown Greensboro. That meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Also, anyone who wishes to submit written comments before the meeting may send those comments to the Guilford County Clerk to the Board’s Office.
What we have here is and example of how govt and big business lead by example – by borrowing money.
So the message is that we should borrow money for all the things we need and want, and hope to declare bankruptcy, or to die, before we pay it off.
Our govt accomplishes this by printing more fiat money – bankrupting the Country and everyone in it.
NO more bonds. ZERO.
If Skip wants to donate a Corvette they can hock that for a few dollars.
Hum…I’m all for excellence in heath care here in our community but I have to wonder since I lost my Dr. Of 13 years and was told I needed to find a new health provider in 90 days because they couldn’t continue to serve my husband and I. Unfortunately Dr’s. are NOT taking new patients. My options are to drive to Reidsville or Eden to stay in the ONLY health care system in my insurance network IS Moses Cone Health Systems. Why build MORE when you can’t STAFF WHAT YOU HAVE? I certainly would love to hear any ideas.
I’m from a medical background and have had dealings with some of the finest hospitals in the country, including Johns Hopkins, Mount Sinai and NYU Langone, and Moses Cone has been right up there with the best in all my dealings with them. Their care, communication skills, technical expertise, equipment and follow-up have been the best they could possibly be and you should be very proud of the hard working men and women who provide this town with excellent care. There is no need to go to Charlotte or Raleigh for world class care, even as other local healthcare providers like Novant and Cardinal are suffering setbacks in quality and financial support. I’ll be happy to invest in their bond, even if it isn’t the most lucrative place to park money today, I have every confidence they will spend it with the same care and attention to detail they provide their patients, of which I was recently one.
Maybe they can hire a few people to answer the phone, or make it so we can find their phone number or email address?
Is this Caesar Cone’s legacy?
Glad to see Rhino again!