Aspen hospital mill levy extension on pace to pass

Aspen Valley Hospital District will continue to enjoy a revenue stream supported by property taxes for at least another decade following a convincing outcome in Tuesday’s election.

As of 11 p.m., tallies showed that 3,338 voters, or 73.04%, approved the property tax, in the form of a 1.5 mill levy, which generates about $4.6 million annually to the 25-bedroom, critical-access hospital’s operations.

The amount accounts for roughly 4% of the hospital’s yearly revenue, according to hospital CEO David Ressler.

For land and home owners, the extension means they’ll keep paying $11.93 in taxes annually on a property with an assessed value of $100,000, and so on.

The mill levy has been in place since 1995 and has been renewed by voters every five years. The current mill levy runs Dec. 31, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2020. The extension will keep it intact through Dec. 31, 2030.

Ressler said the organization’s board of directors opted to bring the renewal question to voters a year earlier for planning purposes into the next decade.

“This revenue is very important to us,” he said Tuesday night. “(The election outcome) will allow us to be able to plan well into the future for 10 years. We’re in the midst of significant change in our industry and we’re a hospital that’s part of moving toward a valley-based environment where we want to be part of the solution for high health care costs.”

The hospital district includes all of Pitkin County except for Redstone.

“We’re excited to see the strong support of our community and the appreciation it has for the hospital,” Ressler said.