Bristol Hospital sale could mean $2 million a year in extra tax revenue

If the proposed sale of Bristol Hospital to a for-profit company goes through as planned next year, the city will get about $2 million in extra revenue because it will be able to levy property taxes on the hospital for the first time.

“It’s a huge growth for us, if and when it happens,” city Assessor Tom DeNoto said. He said he figures the hospital has about $103.5 million worth of land, buildings and equipment that would be subject to property taxes — enough to bring an extra $2.5 million annually into municipal coffers. But the city would also lose $520,000 in state aid intended to offset the burden of having so large a non-taxable entity in Bristol, leaving a net gain of about $2 million. That’s nearly enough, all by itself, to pay the yearly tab to have full-day kindergarten in city schools or cover the annual tab for paving municipal streets or adding a synthetic athletic field every year. It’s a lot of additional money, even in a $181 million budget.
Click here for a link to the full story. Here is a link to an interactive map showing the hospital's assessed property in Bristol.
PS: To those who have already commented on the story on The Bristol Press website this morning, please chill. The city hasn't spent the money yet. Officials haven't even talked about spending the money yet. With the sale not even a sure thing at this point, they'd have to be crazy to do much more than watch and wonder how it will all turn out.
One more note given the comments people are leaving on the story: You might want to read the comments that Jim Albert had on the proposed hospital sale during last year's City Council campaign, before he was tapped as the new president of the chamber. Here's a link.
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com