Orange County registered voters will have a chance to hear information and ask questions about the upcoming vote on the hospital district Thursday, Nov. 30 beginning at 6pm at the new Cypress Center at Lamar State College-Orange.
Orange has been without a hospital with in-patient beds since 2015, when Baptist Hospital Orange closed. The hospital then closed the emergency room in January this year.
Voters will decide ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to form a separate taxing entity to support the hospital. The maximum property tax will be 18 cents per $100 valuation. The district will be overseen by a citizen board of directors.
County Judge Brint Carlton will open the meeting by explaining the details and voting information. Then there will be someone speaking “in favor” of the hospital and then someone against it. Each person will speak for 10-15 minutes.
“We wanted to give the voters a chance to hear both sides because there is a lot of misinformation out there,” said Kelli Patin, one of the organizers. “Ross Smith will speak for the district and David Covey will speak against it. Then all three gentlemen will take questions from the audience.”
The election will be Tuesday, December 19. Early voting will begin December 4 and run through December 15.
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