The Indian River County Hospital District has the chance to make a fresh start in January, to earn back some of the trust and goodwill it’s lost over the past month or so. But that’s not guaranteed.
It needs to start acting like a government body with a $22 million annual budget which assesses, invests and spends ad valorem property taxes paid by local taxpayers.
It needs to start acting like a government body that is deeply cognizant of the fact that it hiked its property tax rate by 61 percent in 2024.
While the taxpayers have largely given it a free pass in the past, people are now paying attention.
Some very basic things need to happen immediately:
- Meeting agenda items need to be more explicit in describing what will be discussed, for the benefit of the public. Perfect example: “CCIRH Bridge Plan” is the plan (which still does not exist!) to give Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital $13.6 million over four years. Just say that. “Discussion of proposed $13.6 million plan to provide bridge funding to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital.”
- Each agenda item should have backup documentation in the agenda packet, even if it’s a staff memo giving some background, prior actions, and budget implications. Ideally, a cost-benefit analysis should be provided for all decisions coming before the trustees.
- Agenda backup packets for both the Chairman’s roundtable meetings and the monthly business meetings need to be posted on the Hospital District website for the public to see.
- Videos of the monthly chairman’s roundtable meetings should be posted on the Hospital District’s YouTube page within 24 hours. Videos of monthly business meetings should be posted the next business day.
- Full meeting minutes, not just glossed-over “Summary Minutes” for each meeting, should be posted on the Hospital District website for the public.
- Any presentations and handouts viewed, used or read from during the meeting should be made a part of the permanent meeting record, and posted with the minutes for the public.
- Controversial discussions and decisions need to be captured more fully in the meeting minutes. In fact, the more controversial or contentious the topic being discussed, the more that needs to be reflected in the minutes. If a member of the board disagrees with a position or action of the board, he or she has the right to have that dissent reflected in the minutes, and the public can watch the video to find out more.
- Official email addresses for each Hospital District trustee need to be set up immediately. They must be easy to find on the district website, with each trustee provided district-logo business cards.
- Closed-door meetings with Cleveland Clinic officials and individual elected trustees about Indian River County Hospital District business should be prohibited. If it involves public funds or publicly owned assets like the hospital, all seven trustees and the taxpayers deserve to be in the room when any deals are made.
- Public comment must be taken at all Hospital District meetings on every agenda item before any vote is taken. Public comment at the very end of the meeting after decisions are made defeats the whole purpose of public comment.
- Written comments submitted by the public should be read into the record before a vote on the corresponding item.
- All Hospital District officials and employees must be thoroughly trained on ethics, conflicts of interest and Florida Sunshine Laws pertaining to open meetings and records retention.
If these very simple thing do not happen, the voters and taxpayers have other avenues to address their grievances with the Indian River County Hospital District (see related story).