Winfield, CDH working to resolve funding dispute
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital officials say they aren't ignoring Winfield's complaints that the hospital hasn't paid its fair share for village services.
Brian Lemon, the president of the 380-bed hospital in downtown Winfield, has been meeting privately with Village President Erik Spande in an effort to address the town's concerns.
Lemon and Spande have had two one-on-one discussions over the past two weeks and plan to meet again soon. The talks began after Winfield sent a newsletter to residents saying the nonprofit hospital isn't paying "for any services funded by local tax revenue" despite being the largest user of village services.
Spande said his hope is to find an amicable solution where CDH agrees to make annual payments to the village.
He didn't say what amount the village is seeking. However, officials have estimated that Winfield spends $550,000 a year on police, road maintenance and other services for the hospital.
"The goal is to find a mutually agreeable solution," Spande said. "CDH has to be able to live with it. And frankly, I have to have the majority on my board think it's reasonable."
On Friday, Lemon said in a written statement that the meetings were started to get a better understanding of Winfield's issues and concerns.
"CDH has a long history of being a trusted community partner," Lemon said, "and I'm optimistic that President Spande and I can work together to resolve this issue in a timely manner."
If an agreement can't be reached, Winfield is prepared to go in "a different direction" and pursue methods to extract more money from one of the area's biggest hospitals.
"The village can't wait forever," said Spande, adding that CDH administrators have stalled past discussions. "We need to have a cogent action, and it has to occur in the not-too-distant future."
While Winfield has been forced to cut staff and services, CDH has made significant profits, village officials say.
"The bottom line is the village has been waiting around for CDH for 2½ years," Spande said.
Because CDH is a nonprofit hospital, it's not subject to taxes. But a village committee last month concluded that the hospital "should be considered an expanding business which may be subject to fees and taxes."
Revenue-generating ideas the committee considered include: establishing a fee for police fees; establishing a parking fee; establishing an employers' expense tax; and establishing a hospital bed fee.
No decisions have been made.
In fact, the village board might first seek feedback from residents. Trustees are considering the possibility of putting an advisory question on the March ballot that would ask voters if CDH should be contributing more money to the village's budget.