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¿Qué es la Medida N?

Measure N would allow the Pajaro Valley Health Care District to issue $116 million in bonds to buy the land at Watsonville Community Hospital and make improvements. Property owners in the district would pay $24 per $100,000 of assessed property value annually for 30 years or until the bond is paid off.

La medida aparecerá en las papeletas de los votantes del Distrito Sanitario del Valle del Pájaro. El distrito se extiende desde Aptos hasta Las Lomas, en el condado de Monterey, con límites similares a los del Distrito Escolar Unificado del Valle del Pájaro.

La medida necesita más de dos tercios de los votos para ser aprobada.

A map of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District.

La frontera norte de Pajaro Valley Health Care District incluye Rio Del Mar Boulevard, Freedom Boulevard, Browns Valley Road, Hazel Dell Road y la línea del condado de Santa Cruz. El distrito se formó en febrero de 2022 e incluye partes de los condados de Santa Cruz y Monterey. (Comisión de Formación de Agencias Locales)

¿Qué haría la Medida N?

If Measure N is adopted, property owners in the Pajaro Valley Health Care District would pay an annual tax of $24 per $100,000 of assessed property value for about 30 years until the bonds are paid off 

The Health Care District would issue $116 million in bonds for the health care district. The money legally must be spent on facilities improvements, and it is expected to pay for the hospital property and buildings, building repairs and upgrades and new equipment. The bonds would be repaid over 30 years by the tax on property owners within the district.

Measure N ballot text: To improve the quality of healthcare at Watsonville Community Hospital; expand/renovate the emergency room; upgrade imaging systems including x-rays, MRI and CT scanners; purchase the hospital property; modernize healthcare facilities to expand services; replace roofs/plumbing; shall Pajaro Valley Health Care District’s measure authorizing $116,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, generating approximately $6,800,000 annually at an average rate of $24 per $100,000 of assessed valuation while bonds are outstanding, with citizen oversight and all funds under local control, be adopted?”

¿Qué significa votar "sí"?

A “yes” vote would authorize an annual property tax within the Pajaro Valley Health Care District to fund $116 million in bonds. 

¿Qué significaría un voto negativo?

Un "no" no autorizaría un nuevo impuesto sobre bienes inmuebles o bonos.

Thing to consider about Measure N

  • Background on Watsonville Community Hospital.
  • How the tax would work.
  • What the tax would fund.

Background on Watsonville Community Hospital

In 2021, Watsonville Community Hospital faced closure after its private owners filed for bankruptcy. To keep the hospital operational, state lawmakers created the Pajaro Valley Health Care District in 2022. Health care districts are a form of local government that operate independently of city or county governments.

El Estado, los condados de Monterey y Santa Cruz y otros donantes dieron al distrito 65 millones de dólares para comprar las operaciones del hospital y empezar a gestionarlo como una organización sin ánimo de lucro. Los edificios y terrenos del hospital se vendieron a Medical Properties Trust, con sede en Alabama, que ahora cobra al distrito un alquiler anual de 3 millones de dólares.

Tras sacar al hospital de la quiebra, el Distrito de Atención Sanitaria terminó 2022 con un déficit de 30 millones de dólares. En 2023, se vio favorecido por un préstamo estatal sin intereses de 8,3 millones de dólares, y terminó el año con un déficit de 7 millones de dólares. El presupuesto previsto para 2024 es "casi equilibrado", dijo la portavoz del hospital, Nancy Gere. 

“It really is quite a feat to have done that and not had any layoffs,” Gere said. “We really feel like we’re on the right direction.” 

Si la Medida N no es aprobada por los votantes, el hospital no se enfrentaría a un cierre inmediato, dijo Gere. Pero el camino hacia la estabilidad a largo plazo sería "mucho más difícil", dijo.

The tax is a General Obligation Bond, which is assessed on residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial land. The tax rate is about $24 per $100,000 of annual assessed value. The assessed value usually changes when the property is sold, and it is typically lower than the market value.

The money raised from the bonds can only be spent on the hospital’s facilities, not on salaries or other expenses, according to the measure. An independent committee appointed by the Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board would oversee expenditures.

If the bond measure is approved, a major priority for the health care district would be purchasing land and buildings of Watsonville Community Hospital, according to hospital leaders. The land is owned by Medical Properties Trust, which charges about $3 million in rent each year

“It’s like when you’re renting an apartment versus owning a home,” said Gere, the hospital spokesperson. “We can take that money and reinvest it back into patient care.”

The Pajaro Valley Health Care District has the “right of first refusal” on the property, meaning the owners must offer to sell it to the health care district before they seek a different buyer. But that right expires in December 2025, said Marcus Pimentel, a member of the campaign committee for Measure N. Pimentel spoke as a campaign committee member. He is also a member of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board.

Medical Properties Trust has agreed to sell the property to the district for $40 million, but could seek other buyers if the district can’t come up with the money by December 2025. To have time to collect money from the property tax, issue bonds, and buy the property, voters would need to approve the measure this March.

If voters reject Measure N, “we effectively run out of time” to have an exclusive right to buy the property, Pimentel said.

The bonds would also fund other upgrades to the hospital, such as:

  • Mejoras en el edificio, incluido un tejado nuevo y mejoras en fontanería, calefacción, ventilación y aire acondicionado.
  • Duplicar el tamaño del servicio de urgencias, con 12 camas y 33.000 visitas en 2023.
  • Más equipos médicos, como radiografías, resonancias magnéticas y tomografías computarizadas.

Most reimbursements from Medi-Cal, Medicare and private insurance only pay for medical care, and don’t bring in enough money to pay for upgrades, according to a statement from Watsonville hospital leaders. 

New specialized equipment could entice patients who would otherwise travel to San Jose or elsewhere for pricier surgeries or procedures to do them locally, Gere said. Private insurance reimbursements for those surgeries can help offset the low reimbursement rates of Medi-Cal and Medicare. Recently-purchased robotics equipment for hip and knee replacements have already started to pay off, Gere said. “You have to invest money to make money,” she said. 

Having better facilities and equipment would also help attract more doctors to the hospital, hospital leaders wrote. Doctors are contractors, not employees, and often prefer to work in hospitals with better equipment, Gere said. 

No arguments against Measure N were filed with the Santa Cruz or Monterey county clerks.

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Home » Elections » March 5, 2024 Election Guide » Ballot measures » Measure N