HCN- Dayton town hall meeting put hard questions to the hospital district

A story was written by the Dayton News which tells the truth about a recent public meeting where the controversial "Liberty Hospital District" was asked questions by some very upset and concerned citizens.

Unlike other local news outlets spinning lies about the support garnered by the "Liberty Hospital District" who came to Dayton with a carpet bag full of tricks.  At a recent public meeting, here as follows are excepts of the truth from this publicly perceived financial shake down-

"Representatives of the Liberty County Hospital District were put on the defensive at the town hall meeting in Dayton Thursday night, July 11, as officials and others speaking for the City of Dayton made statements and asked questions strongly insinuating mismanagement."

*Noticeably absent from the public meeting was Liberty attorney C. Bruce Stratton who is said to be the proverbial wizard behind the "Liberty Hospital District curtain". Why was he hiding out and not answering questions concerning his machination?

"Paul Henry attended, representing the hospital district, along with other board members and David Mendez, an attorney with Bickerstaff, a firm that advises the district and specializes in providing legal counsel to public entities."


"The meeting room had a table up front for the Dayton City Council with a table on the council’s left for district board members and a table for the “media,” nearly all of whom chose to sit elsewhere."

On the council’s right were tables set up for Dayton’s special council, an attorney named Sandy Hellums-Gomez from the firm of Thompson and Horton, LLP, and Mark Burton, a certified public accountant hired by the City of Dayton to review the financial information provided by the district."

"Attorney Hellums-Gomez spoke to address the question of whether the hospital district and the Liberty-Dayton Regional Medical Center (LDRMC) having the same board members was unlawful or constituted an ethical violation. Her answer was no, it is not illegal, nor does it violate any established ethical standards, but Hellums-Gomez added that in her opinion it looked bad."

"Next, Burton, the CPA, spoke. He said he had reviewed the financial records provided by the district, that had been prepared by the accounting firm BKD, and that, in his opinion, those records were not a complete audit but only a “financial statement.” He explained that BKD did not make a complete audit probably because they lack sufficient records from the district, in his opinion."


"There are three entities involved: first is the Liberty County Hospital District No. 1, a political subdivision created by a vote of the residents in the district; second is a non-profit corporation called the LCHD No. 1 Corporation; and third there is the actual hospital itself, the Liberty-Dayton Regional Medical Center."

"The district, as a political body, has no bylaws."

"The non-profit corporation, that owns the hospital facilities, has bylaws adopted in 2009, but the word “audit” does not appear anywhere in them."

Neither do the bylaws of the LDRMC, as they were adopted in 2009, appear to require yearly audits. Possibly the bylaws of the corporation or the LDRMC have since been amended to include such a requirement, but neither the special council nor the CPA specified this in their remarks and repeatedly referred to “the district’s bylaws.”

Summary:
 
"Also attending Dayton’s town hall meeting were Liberty Mayor Carl Pickett and City Manager Gary Broz."

"Pickett spoke briefly encouraging everyone to work together and noting the trust he has in Henry."

Hmmm...

This was an excellent story by HCN reporter Casey Stinnett for the whole story link here.