NVH applying for New Market Tax Credit

TONASKET – The North Valley Hospital District is applying for $10 million from the New Market Tax Credit through Wells Fargo Bank, the business development coordinator announced during the district’s board meeting on Thursday, March 24.

“We meet all of the criteria for the credit and we’re in the process of filling out the application,” Terri Orford said. “The gal I was talking to at Wells Fargo is really excited about us applying for it.”

If approved for the credit, Orford said the money would be used to finish the hospital addition’s basement, for the cafeteria remodel, for the boiler replacement and for the CT move.

“Two to three weeks after we turn in our application, they’ll let us know if we get it or not,” Orford said. “If we do, it’ll take 90 to 100 days for the check to come through.”

According to the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund page of the United States Department of the Treasury’s Web site, the New Market Tax Credit Program “permits taxpayers to receive a credit against Federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDEs). Substantially, all of the qualified equity investment must in turn be used by the CDE to provide investments in low-income communities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period. In each of the first three years, the investor receives a credit equal to five percent of the total amount paid for the stock or capital interest at the time of purchase. For the final four years, the value of the credit is six percent annually. Investors may not redeem their investments in CDEs prior to the conclusion of the seven-year period.”

To qualify as a CDE, an organization must, the website states, be a domestic corporation or partnership at the time of the certification application; demonstrate a primary mission of serving or providing investment capital for low-income communities or low-income persons and maintain accountability to residents of low-income communities through representation on a governing board of or advisory board to the entity.

During this meeting, the board also heard from Chief Financial Officer Bomi Bharucha regarding the financial status of the hospital as it finishes the first fifth of the year. Bharucha provided a rundown of the gross revenue brought in by each department as compared to what was budgeted for the department to bring in. The total budgeted amount of gross revenue for the whole district was $29,803,503, but the annualized gross revenue amount, from Jan. 1 to March 14 is at $33,587,856, a total of $3,784,353 so far.

Some departments are under the budgeted amount. These departments are the Anesthesiology I/P and O/P departments, the ICU Daily department, the Labor and Delivery O/P department, Laboratory I/P, Laboratory N/H, Laboratory O/P departments, the Oroville Family Medical O/P, the Pharmacy I/P department, the Radiology O/P department, the Recovery Room I/P department, the Surgical Services and Surgical Services I/P departments and the Tonasket Family Medical O/P department.

Besides those 14 departments, the other 31 departments are above budget for gross revenue so far this year.

The next hospital board meeting is on Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m. in the district’s board room.