By Arizona Agenda
For most of us, “bonds” is one of those words you politely nod at without really understanding. Or wanting to.
Most of the time, pretending works. But next month, Maricopa County is mailing voters a ballot to decide nearly $900 million in new bonds for Valleywise Health, so it’s a good time to try to understand what voting for a bond actually means.
Ballots for the all-mail Prop 409 election go out on Oct. 8, and should be mailed back by Oct. 28. Voters will decide if they want Valleywise Health, through the Maricopa County Special Health Care District, to use $898 million of their property tax dollars to build new facilities, like a behavioral health hospital, and upgrade old ones.
Valleywise Health isn’t a corporate chain like Banner Health or Dignity Health. It’s a public entity that traces back to 1877, when Maricopa County built a “pest house” to treat people with contagious diseases like smallpox. Voters approved a Special Health Care District in 2003 that gave an elected board taxing authority.
Valleywise is the largest public teaching hospital in Maricopa County, and it has 15 locations throughout the Valley. And since it’s publicly funded, the hospital is expected to absorb the cost of care for people who can’t pay.
