Simplified Version:

We started this petition because we were concerned and/or angry about what has happened at the Children's Hospital and how OUR tax dollars are being spent without input from us.

1.  We ask the County Commissioners to point out exactly where we can find out how the $120 million for the Children's Hospital and the $152 million for the clinics was spent.

2.  We already paid for the Children's Hospital once, we have no desire to continue paying for it as an entity of UMC.

3. UMC claims that Children's owes it $109 million. We want reports on how much did UMC's services actually cost versus how much they charged the Children's Hospital. We ask for full transparency.

4.  We are paying for the bond.  As the true landlords of the property, either no rent or a nominal rent should be charged to the Children's Hospital.  If the County Commissioners demand rent, then that rent should be returned to the tax payers.  Any other use by the County is double dipping.

In summary, we are asking the County Commissioners to step up, do their job and use the bond money as intended.  While we are angry about what has happened in the past, we are tired of talking about contracts or deals that were naively made by Children's Hospital and its board.  We are asking you to preserve a city asset that was built by tax payer dollars.

Full Text:

The County Commissioners and UMC want us to believe that they have the tax payer’s interests at heart, but they have repeatedly proven that they have no qualms about spending our money.

1) We demand an accounting for all of the bond money that UMC and the County Commissioners have spent.  The people of El Paso paid for these bonds out of our high property taxes, it is our money and we deserve a detailed accounting of where it went.

2) We demand that El Paso County Commissioners allow El Paso Children's Hospital to stay independent from UMC. UMC and the County Commissioners have already shown that they have no qualms about spending tax payer dollars. We do not want El Paso Children's to become part of a tax entity; we do not wish for a "children's wing", that would again, compete with the private sector.  El Paso Children's Hospital was built to serve the needs of children that would otherwise need to go out of town for their care. That is what we voted and paid for, and that is how it should remain. 

3) We demand that the UMC board and management team be truthful about the true debt that is owed by Children's. UMC should not try to benefit from Children's to pay for their own debt; the 109 million dollars should have documentation behind it to prove it.  UMC should charge incremental costs for services and it should readjust El Paso Children’s debt to reflect a true cost.  We ask for transparency and that the auditor’s report from the County Commissioners Court be posted on their website.

4) We demand, as the true landlords of the building, that UMC lease the building to Children's for a minimum amount of $5.00 per month in order to have a tenant, landlord relationship.  Our tax dollars built a hospital for the Children of El Paso. By charging rent to the Children’s Hospital, UMC is double dipping: they spent our money to build it and then charge rent to the families and children of our community that need it most.

In summary we are asking the County Commissioners to step up, do their job and move forward. While we are angry about what has happened in the past, we are tired of talking about contracts or deals that were naively made by Children's Hospital and its board.  We are asking for you to preserve a city asset that was built by tax payer dollars.