Galveston County Daily News, July 5, 2009
In this editorial, Michael Smith, associate editor, urges elected and civic leaders to support the proposed hospital district. "The core issue is the future of UTMB - the county's single largest employer, its largest health care provider, one of its main economic engines. ... The district would cost the owner of a $200,000 house between $120 and $160 a year. Because the district would take over the existing expense, however, the county's tax rate could be cut by about 1.5 cents per $100 of taxable value, meaning a net increase of only about $90 to $130. That's a small price to pay to keep one the county's most important institutions intact, and to mitigate the many long-standing problems caused by the high number of uninsured people in the county."