The Mystery of the 501a Floating Budget AmountSomervell County Salon-Glen Rose, Rainbow, Nemo, Glass....Texas


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How the Heck Can Tax Rate Be Set When the Budget Isn't Done?

The Mystery of the 501a Floating Budget Amount
 


29 August 2014 at 2:12:06 PM
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The Mystery Magicians at the Somervell County Hospital Board apparently believe that fishing a number out of a hat instead of actually looking at an approved budget that actually follows the law is the way to set a tax rate. Talk about putting the cart before the horse! Looks like the same seance attenders that cause Ray Reynolds to say that his not following the *letter of the law* re: the 501a slush fund  but the *spirit of the law* are out in force when it comes time to vote. Maybe by the time there are some hearings on what the tax rate might be, since the preliminary was voted upon, there will be a budget that follows the law but will it remain to the PEOPLE THAT ATTEND THE HEARING to point it out? 

Here's what is totally hilarious about this *budget*,see if you agree. Ray Reynolds prepared two different skimpy budgets that are missing sections required by law, one for hte 11.34 tax rate and one for 9 tax rate

So first thing you should notice is that the 501a budget CHANGES NUMBERS based on HOW MUCH THE TAX RATE IS. Understand something first, the doctors are supposed to be making money from their OWN PRACTICE and that EXTRA money is money that the board can CHOOSE to give to them predicated on certain conditions, like them ASKING for it and then PROVING that they spent the money on what they asked for. (Despite this being a LEGAL signed contract that has been in force for years, Ray Reynolds does not follow this , and in fact, 4 of the Somervell County Hospital Board members voted AGAINST having Ray Reynolds follow the signed agreement that he certified to an auditor he does.) So IF the 501a asks for the money and IF that money is approved and provided the procedures SHOWING the money was spent on what they said, then presumably there's no real way to know exactly WHAT the amount is that an entity should put aside for the 501a. One might figure on some projected number based on the year before but the money is entirely optional. 

But what's interesting about this budget is that the number set aside for the OSA, otherwise known as shortfall money (because the doctors think they have a shortfall and need to come beg money from the taxpayer) CHANGES based on what the tax rate is. Why should that be? 

Second, for some reason the taxpayer money is shown as part as OTHER INCOME WITH the profit and loss, rather than being shown as in a separate section. Why is that? It's pretty obvious that the hospital, if it didn't have tax money could not operate properly as at least a zero sum game on its own. But when you look at the net income line, guess what, it's roughly the  SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY as what is being given out to the 501a. 

As a side note, look at how SOMERVELL COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT is spending 82,189 bucks in HOOD COUNTY'S HOSPITAL DISTRICT for the clinic at Pecan Plantation that YOU AND I CANNOT FREELY GO INTO, because it is NOT a public clinic but behind gates. 

P.S. I kind of wondered how Somervell County used to budget for the 501a when they did the OSA. It appears, asin this example, that the OSA was listed under item 010-423-402. 

It may be that this item # in particular involves other outlays of money under the same umbrella and that a detail would show exactly how they apportioned the money for when GRMC asked for the OSA. 

 

 


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