Will this proposition increase my property taxes? This proposition will not increase the current property tax rate which is 7 mills. Property owners will continue to pay the same amount which is projected to be adequate to pay for the new bonds for the Cancer Center and to continue paying for the 2004 bonds. Where will the Center be located? It will be on the Founders site across from the Hospital. After the Center is built will citizens need to travel out of the parish or state for cancer care? The majority of cancers can be treated in the new Slidell Cancer Center. With a multidisciplinary team approach, coordinating services in one building, employing the very latest in technology for diagnostics and treatments, and affiliating with the National Cancer Institute's Community Hospital Program, most citizens can get state- of- the-art care in their own community. However, physicians may still refer citizens with very rare cancers to academic medical centers where the volume of patients treated for rare cancers is much higher than in Regional Cancer Centers. If the hospital is doing well financially why can't the Hospital pay for the Center with its own revenue? The Hospital needs to make improvements to its facility with its current revenue. Providing private rooms, upgrading the Emergency Room facility expanding and upgrading the surgical areas will take the additional funds that the hospital has on hand. These upgrades will not be possible if funds are directed to build the Cancer Center. What will happen if the Proposition does not pass? SMH will have to choose between needed improvements to its current facility and building a Regional State-of-the-Art Cancer Center. SMH cannot do both with self-generated funds. How Can the Hospital Build the Center with the same level of millage that property owners are paying now? The area has grown and more homeowners are paying the millage which allows a portion of the current amount paid by property owners to go to fund the new Cancer Center What is the current millage that property owners are paying? Property owners are paying 7 mills currently. On a home assessed at $200,000 it would be $87.50 per year. On a home assessed at $250,000 it would be $ 122.50 a year. Do all homeowners pay the current millage? Homeowners whose homes are assessed at $75,000 or less do not pay the millage. Homeowners who do not live in the Hospital District 2 do not pay the millge. How Do Citizens know that SMH will use the new bond money for the Cancer Center? It is specifically stated in the Proposition that will be on the November 17th ballot. Citizens can also be reassured by the fact that SMH kept the promises they made in the last bond election in 2003. How will the Proposition Appear on the Ballot? HOSPITAL SERVICE DISTRICT NO. 2 PROPOSITION SUMMARY: AUTHORITY TO ISSUE $17,500,000 OF 20 YEAR GENERAL OBLICATION BONDS OF THE DISTRICT FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING, ACQUIRING, EXTENDING AND IMPROVING A FULL SERVICE CANCER CENTER AND REALATED HEALTHCARE FACILITIES OF THE DISTRICT, AND ACQUIRING EQUIPMENT AND FURNIISHINGS THEREFOR. Shall St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 2 ( the "District"), incur debt and issue bonds to the amount of Seventeen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ( $17,500,000) to run twenty (20) years from the date thereof, with interest at a rate not exceeding seven per centum ( 7%) per annum, for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, extending and improving a full service Cancer Center and related health care facilities of the District, and acquiring equipment and furnishings therefore, which bonds will be general obligations of the District and will be payable from ad valorem taxes to be levied and collected in the manner provided by Article VI, Section 33 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974 and statutory authority supplemental thereto. If the Proposition is approved by the voters, when will the Cancer Center be constructed? SMH will begin construction in 2008 and expects to complete the project in 2009. Can a representative of the Hospital speak to my neighborhood or civic group? Yes, call Lori at 985.649.8688 and you can speak to someone who can schedule a speaker for your group. Will Citizens have the opportunity to ask questions and speak about the Proposition? Yes, there are public meetings scheduled for Slidell, Pearl River and Lacombe. The meetings are listed on this web site.