Hospital Levy to proceed in April

POMEROY–The Board of Commissioners for the Garfield County Hospital District (GCHD) voted 3-1 to conduct the Special Levy election as originally scheduled, April 28, with ballots to be mailed out April 10, 2020.

Commissioners met in the hospital parking lot Tuesday afternoon, March 17, to discuss the possible cancellation of the April special levy election.

Attending were Chairwoman Cindy Wolf, Chris Herres, Mike Field and Steve Cannon (telephonically). Jen Dixon was not present. Herres, Field and Cannon voted for the motion to proceed with the election, with Wolf opposed.

According to Garfield County Auditor Donna Deal, the hospital special levy would be the only item to appear on the April ballot, at a cost of $2,000 to the GCHD for printing ballots and conducting the election. Deal stated the ballots had not yet been printed, but would have to be ordered by March 20, 2020, placing urgency on making the decision.

Field said postponing the election to August or November would not affect the financial state of the GCHD because the funding from the special levy would not be available until January, 2021.

According to Deal, the Washington Secretary of State conducted a conference call Monday, March 16, with election officials from 12 counties in the state which have elections planned for April, 2020. Seven of the 12 counties had already cancelled the elections by their own choice, and the Secretary of State was considering cancelling the remaining five, especially if at least seventy-five percent of the 12 counties (only two additional) were to decide to cancel their elections.

The elections in those seven counties had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 restrictions. To conduct an election, many people are involved with handling ballots from different locations multiple times, potentially exposing them to the Coronavirus.

Deal’s concern with conducting the election in April, only a few in the Auditor’s office are trained to conduct the election. A positive COVID-19 test would quarantine that worker and those who have been in contact, for two weeks. In that case, no experienced staff to conduct the election and once the election process has begun, it cannot be postponed.

Deal contacted the GCHD board members informing them about the possible cancellation if which an emergency meeting was called by GCHD Board Chairwoman Cindy Wolf. Mike Field, Chris Herres and Wolf were present and Commissioner Steve Cannon participated by phone. Commissioner Jen Dixon was unavailable.

Cannon voiced concerns about voter participation if held in August during harvest and was not in favor of “dragging it out even longer.” He mentioned people currently see the value of keeping the hospital up and running which could boost support of the levy now. Cannon said it is unknown how the virus precautions might affect an August election.

Field agreed that an August election is not ideal, but stated that the Secretary of State could cancel the election anyway. The GCHD would not have the opportunity to hold any “community forum” meetings before the April election, where the board could talk to the public and answer questions about the levy. Two meetings had been planned, but had to be cancelled after Governor Inslee banned gatherings of more than 50 people. He was also concerned about spending the $2,000 for nothing.

Herres stated what happens in the next six to eight weeks will determine how comfortable people are with their own finances, and how much support they can afford to give to the GCHD. By August they may be feeling a bigger pinch in their pocketbooks. He also said he felt they would lose any momentum carrying them forward to a positive vote by postponing the election.

Dixon was not present at the meeting, but sent in comments which were read by Wolf. Dixon stated she was unsure if they could afford to postpone the election, but felt it was important to heed the recommendations of the CDC and Governor Inslee. She acknowledged that having to cancel the “community forums” would most likely have a negative effect on the election results. She feared that proceeding with a levy election during a time when many people have been hit hard by the current economic difficulties would reflect negatively on the GCHD.

Wolf advised that it was important to work with the County, and what is in the best interests of those involved with the election. She felt that postponing to August would give them time to reschedule the community forums, which could be beneficial.

Field suggested that they take no action at this time, which would allow the election to proceed as planned for April. They would be taking a gamble on the $2,000 needed to print ballots and run the election, because the Secretary of State could shut them down anyway. However, he was in favor of the April election date, stating that “we will just have to see what happens.”

Wolf called for a vote, to which Herres, Field and Cannon voted to proceed as planned, and Wolf opposed. Unless the Secretary of State cancels all April elections, the levy election will be April 28, 2020.