The average household would pay almost $5 more in taxes to the Fraser-Fort George Regional Hospital District if its 2025 provisional budget is approved unchanged.
The regional hospital district’s board is set to meet on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 20 and the agenda mostly focuses on financial matters, including the 2025 budget and a progress update on the new acute care tower at the University Hospital of Northern BC.
A document attached to the agenda says that if the 4.90 per cent requisition increase for 2025 approved in last year’s long-term financial plan goes ahead, then combined with the 5.99 per cent increase to converted assessment values in BC Assessment’s 2025 figures, it would lead to a residential rate of $73.06 per $100,000 of assessed value.
That rate is lower than the $73.95 rate per $100,000 of assessed value in 2024, but because of the assessment increases, the average household’s contribution to the hospital district will go up from $300.71 to $305.29.
When financial modelling was done during the regional hospital district’s discussion over the construction of the new acute care tower at the University Hospital of Northern BC, it was estimated that a rate per $100,000 of $77.57 and a $315.44 cost to the average household was needed to pay for the district’s contribution as well as other capital needs.
However, the growth in assessment figures blunted the need to increase the requisition rate.
A total of $29,267,458 in spending for projects approved by the hospital district board from previous years remained unspent as of Dec. 31, 2024, including $6,843,858 for capital projects, $2,423,600 for multi-year projects and $20 million for early works for the new acute care tower due to take place this year.
The board has also committed to spending another $16,888,000 on early works for the acute care tower in 2026 and $318,712,000 for the construction of the tower from 2029 through 2032.
The regional hospital board had a surplus of $13,807,703 in 2024 due to some projects being decommitted, some spending bylaws not being requested by Northern Health and some approved spending not being carried out.
Of those funds, $9,267,213 will be used towards prior years’ spending commitments.
A report from Northern Health giving a status update on the 221-bed acute care tower says that a request for qualifications for contractors interested in building it was issued on Feb. 3 and a request for proposals is expected to be issued in March.
Construction on the tower is expected to start in October 2026 and finish by June 2031. Then, the structure will be commissioned and staff will be trained over a few months for an expected opening date of December 2031.
Once complete, it is expected to house 12 operating rooms and 102 surgical care beds, 26 cardiac beds and 83 mental health bids.
Construction of the new parkade has already started and is expected to be finished by mid-October. It is expected to open for business in November.
Northern Health is also asking for around $11.7 million to fund capital projects besides the new acute care tower in 2025.
The hospital board has typically provided 40 per cent of funds needed for capital projects and major equipment at the UHNBC worth $100,000 or more and a grant towards projects and equipment under that threshold.
However, last November, the board voted to reduce its contribution to projects worth more than $100,000 to 21.63 per cent.
This year, Northern Health is asking for $11,707,624 from the district for capital and equipment purchases.
That includes
- $2,740,400 for major projects continued from previous years
- $4,202,800 for new major projects
- $100,000 for building integrity
- $1,120,400 for minor equipment purchases
- $206,424 for information technology
- $3,337,600 for major equipment purchases
The list of major projects at the University Hospital of Northern BC include the renovation of the echo-cardiac services department, phases 2A and 2B of the relocation of the hematology department, phase two of an energy efficiency project, upgrades to the condensate system, an update to histology ventilation, replacement of the morgue racking system, upgrades to elevator No. 3, upgrades to electrical rooms No. 1 and No. 6 and a replacement of the psychiatry nurse call system.
There are two IT projects, one focusing on cybersecurity upgrades and another relating to picture archiving and communications for radiology.
Major equipment purchases include a network replacement, an optical coherence tomography machine, an ultrasound machine, three operating room anesthesia units, an operating room urology laser replacement, a urinalysis lab machine replacement, an x-ray machine replacement, a CT scan replacement, an electrophoresis system replacement, an ultrasound machine for diagnostic services, the replacement of general surgical towers for operating rooms and nurse call head equipment.
Also on the list is the purchase of a lab chemistry analyzer replacement for the Mackenzie and District Hospital and Health Centre.
A letter from Northern Health to the regional hospital board states that its requests represent a draft budget that is “subject to change, pending funding approval by the Ministry of Health, approval by the board of Northern Health, finalization of projects budgets and the addressing of any emergency priorities that may arise.”
In a report outlining the capital requests, Fraser-Fort George Regional District general manager of financial services Sarah White said Northern Health is aware of the funding cap imposed by the hospital district board “and will be sending bylaw requests to the FFGRHD in priority order.”
Another item on the agenda is the discussion of a funding request from Northern Health for renovations to UHNBC’s hematology lab. This discussion was deferred from the board’s last meeting in December.
A full presentation of the 2025 budget bylaw will take place at the regional hospital board’s meeting in March. The Feb. 20 meeting board meeting starts at 9 a.m. on the second floor of 155 George St.
