Atlas Twp.-By a three-to-one margin, township voters helped dump a countywide Hurley Medical Center millage request on Aug. 4.
If approved, the millage would have generated about $10 million over the next 10 years for the Flint hospital.
Ultimately, Genesee County voters narrowly defeated the request by 859 votes.
The Genesee County Board of Commissioners voted 7-2 in May to place a 0.9 countywide millage for Hurley Medical Center on the August ballot. If passed, the millage would have added about $90 in taxes on a $200,000 home.
Roger Culver, a member of the Committee against Tax Increases, visited with several hundred township residents as he went door-to-door prior to the millage election.
‘We, nor many, many people in the township, have anything against Hurley Hospital’it’s a great hospital,? said Culver following the election. ‘However, there’s a lot of people out there who feel they are taxed too much. Also, a lot of residents feel they should not pay for a city hospital when they don’t live there. Many were unhappy with the way Hurley went about asking for the millage during the mayoral campaign when the city vote was going to be higher.?
Culver also added that in Atlas Township, the operating millage is only .7 mills. ‘That’s less than what Hurley was asking voters to approve’it’s not right. Residents were going to spend more on a Flint hospital than on running their own township??
Hurley officals declined comment regarding a recount or a second attempt at the millage.
Hurley Medical Center CEO Patrick Wardell, however, did issue the following statement Tuesday night following the defeat of the Hurley proposal:
‘Our campaign may have come up short tonight, but we will not give up ? too many people count on Hurley Medical Center to provide quality health care. We can’t afford to give up on the seniors and uninsured of Genesee County who rely on Hurley to provide the quality health care they need.
‘Hurley has been committed for 100 years to providing quality health care to all Genesee County families. Despite tonight’s disappointing results, Hurley will continue to work hard to fulfill our mission of providing quality health care to Genesee County families, regardless of their ability to pay.?
Hurley officials said that it was necessary due to the severe downturn in the auto industry and the domino effect that it has created, escalating the volume of patients the 100-year-old downtown Flint hospital serves. The hospital also provides a Level I Trauma Center, a burn unit, Level III Neonatal ICU and a Children’s Hospital.