In what must have been a heartbreaking loss for planners who had hoped to boost sagging revenues for the San Juan hospital system, a one-cent sales tax increase went down to defeat by a single vote.
The county hospital proposition failed by 1,051 against to 1,050 in favor.Backers said the additional revenue was needed to make up for losses resulting from a slump in property-tax money going to the San Juan Health Care Service. The amount the service gets from property tax is $400,000 a year, a considerable drop from the $500,000 to $600,000 previously.
The new tax might have boosted funding by $500,000 the first year.