County OK's ECMC financial package

[steven]

Erie County lawmakers ended a nearly year-long financial tug-of-war with the Erie County Medical Center Corp. by approving a four-year fiscal support package for the hospital.

The deal, approved 14-1 by the Erie County Legislature Thursday afternoon, was made against the backdrop of on-going litigation concerning how much public sector financial support is due to the hospital. Until two years ago ECMC was owned by the county.

The settlement allocates $48 million in county dollars to the hospital between 2006 and 2009 plus another $41.5 million in bonded capital improvement costs.

It comes one week after State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Makowski ruled that the county is obligated to provide subsidies to ECMC because of provisions included in the 2004 spin-off deal that saw the hospital become a quasi-stand alone private corporation.

"There has always been this uncertainty for the last two years and this now gives us certainty," said Michael Young, ECMC CEO, just moments after the vote. "The certainty is good for us and good for the county."

Young said the trial became the turning point in negotiations between ECMC and the county concerning the subsidies.

"It brought the county to the table," he said.

The vote, the highlight of the legislature's first meeting of the year, followed nearly 25 minutes of speeches from many of the lawmakers. With the exception of Legislator Michael Ranzenhofer, R-Clarence, who voted against the deal, the other 14 members said the deal - while far from perfect - was the best possible one facing the county.

"It is, after all, a compromise," said Legislator Maria Whyte, D-Buffalo. "It's not perfect."

Ranzenhofer, a veteran lawmaker, said he had concerns about where the long term financing for the deal will come from, especially in light of the county's shaky fiscal status.

The settlement will likely be funded by extending the 8.75 percent sales tax at least through 2009. The sales tax is supposed to roll back to 8.25 percent in late 2007.

"This really pushes things off into the future," Ranzenhofer said. "I'm just not comfortable, right now, committing these kind of dollars."

The risk with not approving the package was the county losing at trial and being on the hook for considerably larger funds, many of the lawmakers said. It was a risk they were not willing to take.

"Of course, it is always a gamble," said Legislator Demone Smith, D-Buffalo. "But, it puts ECMC in a good position and it puts Erie County in a good position."

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/s...ml?jst=b_ln_hl

[buffy]

Whatever you think about this deal, bottom line, Giambra & Fisher screwed up...this is all about them.