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(ALEX HAVARDANKSY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Jared Brown speaks about the budget to the hospital board Thursday, Sept. 25. Brown serves the hospital as chief financial officer.
Graham Regional Medical Center adopted their fiscal year 2026 budget along with their tax rate at their latest board meeting.
With the new fiscal year beginning soon, these were essential items for the board of directors to agree upon at their meeting Thursday, Sept. 25.
The first item that was approved by the hospital board was the tax rate. The recommended rate for the board which was approved was $0.272984 per $100 valuation. This is the same rate the hospital board adopted last year as well as in 2024.
This rate comes in under the voter approval rate of $0.290541 per $100 valuation and slightly over the no new revenue rate of $0.268354 per $100 valuation.
The voter approval tax rate is the highest tax rate Graham Hospital District can adopt without holding an election to seek voter approval of the rate.
The no-new-revenue rate is the tax rate from 2025 that will raise the same amount of property tax revenue for Graham Hospital District from the same properties in both 2024 and 2025, according to GRMC’s public notice on the tax rates.
Kernell went on to explain that keeping the tax rate the same for the third consecutive year would result in a 3.5% increase for taxes on revenue based on total properties within the district.
This is due to an increase in the total tax levy for properties in the district going from $3,960,888 in 2024 to $4,101,953 in 2025. This totals out to a $141,065 increase in the tax levy.
Next was the approval of the 2026 budget as a whole, which was presented by Chief Financial Officer Jared Brown. The hospital budgeted for a net income in 2026 of $1,363,283 which is a slight increase from 2025’s projected net income of $1,357,775.
The hospital is expecting an 8.1% increase or $71,505,960 in gross patient service revenue due largely to volume service increases for inpatients, outpatients and emergency room visits.
The board is also expecting an over $1 million or 4.2% increase in net revenue as well.
Total operating expenses at the hospital are expected to increase 5.2% from $27,151,397 up to $28,553,619.
Some of the most notable increases in that category come from a $1,252,877 increase in salaries and wages along with increases in administration and general expenses, as well as depreciation expenses.
There are also notable decreases in this section such as physician fees which are decreasing by over half a million dollars.
Much of this has to do with the departure of orthopedic surgeon Michael T. Hay.
Due to this, the hospital has decreased the number of expected orthopedic clinic visits down to zero.
Hay’s departure will also impact the hospital in decreases for the orthopedic department as a whole as well as radiology.
The total gross revenue the hospital budgeted for was $71,505,960. The total net revenue the hospital is also expecting at the end of 2025 is $25,301,786.
Three-year capital budget
After approving the budget, the hospital also deliberated on further planning for theirthree-year capital budget from FY 2026-2028.
The purpose of the capital spending budget was to focus funding towards outdated equipment and supplies at the hospital.
The hospital is budgeting $3,048,211 dollars towards capital expenditures in 2026, $1,333,817 in 2027 and $635,100 in 2028.
The top expenditures for the 2026 capital budget include $1.3 million for the installment of a new MRI machine, $550,000 for roof unit replacement of an X-ray machine in the hospital and $500,000 for the construction of a new MRI room.
Additionally, $242,925 will go towards refurbishment of an eight year old ambulance truck.
In 2027, $269,760 will be going towards MSP Replacement for Syntrio, along with another $242,925 towards ambulance refurbishment, $120,000 towards improving lab equipment at the hospital and $100,000 each towards flooring in the fitness center as well as getting improved orthopedic equipment as well as a charging station for the department.
In 2028, the biggest expenditure is $450,000 which will go towards improving mammography equipment in the imaging department and the construction of a new room in the hospital for biopsies.
