LA voters to consider hospital's finances, future

St. Charles Parish Hospital's plan to borrow $11.5 million is designed to give Luling, LA, residents speedier service in its emergency room and allow it eventually to lower property taxes by stretching out debt. The Parish Council has agreed to place the measure on the parish's April 4 ballot, giving voters the final say on the idea. If approved, the measure will let the hospital shift $6.3 million in a seven-year debt to a 20-year payback, plus provide $5.2 million for capital improvements such as building a new emergency room, buying five new ambulances, and buying the property that the hospital leases for its ambulance station.