11-309. Hospital enterprise; accounting; fund;
administration; budget
A. A county with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons as shown
by the most recent United States decennial census may establish a hospital enterprise
that may include all hospital and ambulatory care facilities, property, both tangible and
intangible, and services owned, performed or provided by the county. A hospital
enterprise shall be a separate unit of the county, and all revenues and expenditures of
the hospital enterprise shall be accounted for as a separate unit. Notwithstanding
section 36-187, subsection B, all monies received from the operation of the hospital
enterprise shall be deposited in a hospital enterprise fund. All expenses of the
hospital enterprise shall be paid from the hospital enterprise fund.
B. The board of supervisors of the county shall govern the hospital enterprise but
may name one or more persons to administer the hospital enterprise and to direct its
operations. Notwithstanding section 11-251, paragraph 9, the board of supervisors may
pledge or assign any hospital improvements, additions or equipment purchased with the
proceeds of any lease-purchase agreements and may take all other action or order all acts
by agents, attorneys or independent contractors necessary and appropriate for the
operation of the hospital enterprise and for the payment of any lease-purchase
agreements.
C. A county with a hospital enterprise may incur lease-purchase agreements payable
solely from the hospital enterprise fund, as augmented by the special fund authorized
under subsection D of this section.
D. For each fiscal year in its annual budget prepared pursuant to title 42, chapter
17, article 3, the county may budget an amount equal to any expected shortfall between
the hospital enterprise fund's expected revenues, proceeds and receipts and the hospital
enterprise's expected disbursements, including disbursements for operation and
maintenance expenses and payments on lease-purchase agreements, and may establish a
special fund into which the county treasurer shall pay only excise tax revenues collected
by the state and remitted to the county or collected by the county, unless these taxes
are otherwise restricted by law to specific nonhealth care uses. The special fund may be
set aside solely for the payment of operation and maintenance of the hospital enterprise
and lease-purchase agreements as provided in this section. The amount of excise tax
proceeds deposited in the special fund shall be determined by the board of supervisors in
the annual budget. The treasurer shall transfer monies out of the special fund into the
hospital enterprise fund or shall pay warrants drawn on the hospital enterprise fund with
monies in the special fund whenever a shortfall exists in the hospital enterprise
fund. The establishment of the special fund for any fiscal year does not obligate the
county to the continued maintenance of the fund in any later fiscal year. The county
treasurer shall administer the special fund as directed by the board of supervisors.
E. Lease-purchase agreements under this section may be payable over a term of not
more than twenty years.
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