City commissioners all agree that the public should play a key role in any decision on the future ownership of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
Two commissioners have called for public hearings, which are customary in the local governmental process especially with pivotal decisions. The voting majority indicated that they are open to the idea and suggested that the public will be involved regardless of a formal public hearing.
The hospital isn’t operated by the city, but all of the assets associated with TMH’s main campus — including the 75-acre property, two-million square-foot building, hospital beds, X-ray machines and more — are still owned by the city as part of a $1-a-year lease agreement.
In most cases, public hearings are set after an item has been introduced in a preceding city commission meeting. Usually one public hearing is scheduled, but additional ones can be held if the commission chooses.
The issue of public meetings came to the forefront as the city studies a Florida statute that regulates the sale of municipal hospitals. It lists out specific stipulations that must be done before a hospital can be sold, and holding a public hearing is among those criteria.
The law spells out numerous other stipulations that have to occur for a sale to happen, including a review by the hospital’s board of the benefits of a sale, the publication of all documents considered by the board and the hiring of a certified public accounting firm to independently determine the hospital’s value.
Another is a holding a public hearing to “provide interested persons the opportunity to be heard on the matter.”
While the city attorney has determined that the law doesn’t apply because the city doesn’t control the hospital, commissioners still said they support holding some kind of hearing even if it isn’t required and if constituents haven’t pressed them to do so.
Mayor John E. Dailey: ‘Right thing to do’
Florida laws that regulate local government processes mandate that such decisions have to be made “in the sunshine.” Therefore, community members will absolutely be a part of the process, Mayor John E. Dailey said.
Whether it’s about the hospital or any major decision the public needs to be heard, he said: “We have to have public hearings, and we will. It’s the right thing to do.”
Dailey, who hospital supporters have said met with FSU President Richard McCullough and City Manager Reese Goad “in secret” to engineers “a hostile takeover” of the hospital, said while no one has approached him about conducting a public hearing on the matter, “most people are very enthusiastic about the possibility” of what’s to become for Tallahassee’s healthcare.
City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox: ‘I will act appropriately’
City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said she hasn’t formed an opinion on whether a public hearing is necessary, but “the will of the people is something I will always advocate for.”
“Any decision that is to be made on the hospital, I will act appropriately based on any information I receive,” she said.
Right now, people are more focused on managing the heat wave and preparing to return to school than they are on the negotiations occurring between TMH and FSU, Williams-Cox said.
City Commissioner Curtis Richardson: ‘It’s appropriate’
City Commissioner Richardson said he wouldn’t necessarily “push” for a public hearing but thinks “it’s appropriate” to have one so that everything can be addressed out in the open.
“The public should have the opportunity to comment and hear the discussion,” Richardson said.
But now, Richardson believes the drama between TMH, FSU and the city is “beyond public interest.”
Negotiations have been occurring privately between TMH and FSU without the commission’s involvement, and it’ll continue that way until a decision to turn over the property or keep the status quo has been made, he said.
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow: ‘A good process’
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow has been vocal from the start of the TMH discussions about keeping commissioners and community members in the loop – and keeping the hospital as a community asset.
He recently posted on social media that any sale of property “must be vetted publicly in hearings.” And he upheld this thought when he spoke with the Tallahassee Democrat.
“A public hearing would be the right thing to do whether we’re required to do it or not,” Matlow said. “It’s a billion dollar asset, and it belongs to the people of Tallahassee.”
The city may have decided the state law doesn’t apply to the situation at hand, but “‘out of an abundance of caution” the city should follow it and hold a hearing because “it’s a good process,” he said.
City Commissioner Jack Porter: ‘Biggest decision in local government’
A single public hearing is the very least the city could do, City Commissioner Jack Porter said.
Porter said she thinks a series of public hearings, if not a ballot referendum, should be considered before a sale. Getting the “broadest input possible” is the responsible thing to do.
“This is the biggest decision in local government in many years,” Porter said. “Every elected official, every voter and everyone involved should be heard.”
The decision to sell is the city’s, and commissioners are accountable to voters and taxpayers she said.
“We can’t afford for this massive proposal to be another back-room deal with limited public input,” she said.
Local government watchdog reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ‘Right thing to do’: City commissioners support holding public hearing to discuss TMH sale
Reporting by Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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