Council’s concern about hospital changes growing

The discussion stemmed from Health and Human Services Committee talks about funding for a Community Health Improvement Plan to study the issues. HHS decided to allocate $500,000 for the plan in the fiscal 2008 budget reconciliation list and determine later whether to include it in the budget.

HHS Chairman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park proposed assessing the financial stability of the county’s hospitals, how moving one hospital would affect the others and how the changes would affect access to health care.

‘‘We need to make decisions based on fact, not on the [back and forth] between hospitals. We don’t really know the affects of the move and we need to find out,” he said.

Before a hospital can move, it must get approval from the Maryland Health Care Commission, which takes into consideration the concerns outlined in Leventhal’s proposal. Other council members, including Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda, recommended completing the health study in stages. Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Potomac mentioned a separate study to examine what could happen if the Prince George’s County Hospital system closes.

‘‘I feel we need to get more information on Dimensions Healthcare System and its relationship with Prince George’s for when the state delegation is forced to make some decisions,” said Council President Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton. ‘‘The question becomes how to get the information and from where to get it.”

HHS will take up the study’s scope on Thursday.

Mansionization

On Monday, the council approved funding for an infill development task force as part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission budget.

Berliner wants the task force to address problems such as homes — specifically his district — that are built larger than the surrounding homes. The homes have been termed ‘‘McMansions” and have led to several community disputes.

An Office of Legislative Oversight study this year noted that most infill development, or development on lots in urban areas that are largely built out, is in Berliner’s district.

The council decided to allocate one-third of a workyear of a Park and Planning employee for the task force. No specific dollar amount was named, but the average would be about $29,000 based on employee salaries.

‘‘We have set a very ambitious goal of getting specific proposals by October 2007,” Berliner said. ‘‘If we meet this schedule, it is my hope that the council could adopt needed changes before the end of the year.”

The task force would include Park and Planning staff, community representatives, developers, Realtors and council staffers

Top credit rating

For the 34th year, the county has retained its coveted AAA bond rating from the three main Wall Street bond agencies.

Key to retaining the rating was the county’s five-year plan to prefund employee retirement benefits, said Trachtenberg, chairwoman of the council’s Management and Fiscal Policy Committee.

As part of the prefunding plan, the council voted to spend an additional $31.9 million for the benefits in fiscal 2008, the first year of the plan.

For residents, the rating — similar to an individual’s credit score — means that the county can borrow money at a lower interest rate. The county is expected to save about $2.5 million over the life of a bond on $250 million in long-term county debt.

On Tuesday, the county sold the debt to Citigroup — one of seven bidders — at a 4.08 percent interest rate, said Jennifer Barrett, the county’s finance director. The federal interest rate is 5.25 percent.

Coming Up

*The County Council meets with the Prince George’s County Council regarding bicounty budgets at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission’s Laurel headquarters.

*At 10 a.m. May 24, the council is expected to take final action on the fiscal 2008 budget. In the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.