Other additions
In addition to the $8.5 million liability related to Hutcheson, Catoosa also recently added roughly $4.4 million to the county budget for the development authority, as well as nearly $2.2 million to the general fund for improvements to the Cabela’s facility in Fort Oglethorpe. Totaled together, the commission added roughly $14.9 million to the budget.
Judge rules against Hutcheson in discovery process
A federal judge believes Hutcheson Medical Center’s legal team is withholding information. In a U.S. District Court order last Monday, Judge Harold Murphy wrote that Hutcheson needs to provide more documents to Erlanger Health System as part of the two hospitals’ ongoing lawsuits against each other.Murphy wrote that the hospital authority, the governing board that controls Hutcheson, needs to provide more documents to Erlanger by April 11. After that, Murphy ruled, the Hutcheson team will not be able to use any other pieces of information to support their lawsuit in court.Murphy also ordered Georgia Rep. Tom Weldon, the lawyer for Hutcheson, to provide a report explaining everything he has done to try to find important documents in preparation for the case. Also, Hutcheson will have to pay for all the work Erlanger’s lawyers had to do to try to get those documents, with Murphy arguing that Hutcheson’s side didn’t work hard enough to provide Erlanger with discovery material.
The Catoosa County Commission recently approved an amendment that formally recognizes the roughly $8.5 million liability it owes in regard to the county’s portion of debt due to Hutcheson Medical Center’s bankruptcy.
The county had to recognize the debt in the budget after the Government Accounting and Standards Board issued a statement saying county governments should have to keep a record of liabilities on their books. Previously, the county commission would have footnoted such liabilities, but not formally represented them in the budget, said Catoosa’s Chief Financial Officer Carl Henson.
The $8.5 million is a reduced figure from the $10 million Catoosa owed on the line of credit the county helped guarantee after Erlanger Medical Facility agreed to loan Hutcheson $20 million in 2011. Walker County agreed to guarantee half of the $20 million loan from Erlanger, leaving both counties on the hook for $10 million apiece.