For every $100 of gross revenues, businesses would pay $7.06.

Voters in Sandoval County approved a 4.25 mill property tax increase to help Presbyterian Healthcare Services and the University of New Mexico offer an expanded range of services.

Billy Sparks of the UNM Medical Group is grateful to the Sandoval County voters for passing the tax.

"I want to thank the people of Sandoval County for supporting this. It is going to mean a higher level of care at two hospitals," Sparks said. "This will create a higher level of care."

Sandoval County commissioners will decide what specific contracts are put into place with providers over the next year.

Sparks said it is too early to offer specific programs and projects that the tax will help.

The mill levy will be included on property tax bills in 2009.

Based on calculations for a home with an assessed value of $200,000, the taxable value is one-third ($66,666.67). That equates to a base bill of $1,894.27. The 4.25 mill increase for hospitals equates to an additional $283.33 in taxes per year for a home with an assessed value of $200,000.

The additional taxes are anticipated to generate more than $13 million a year to be used for healthcare contracts with healthcare providers throughout the county.

Presbyterian broke ground on Aug. 1 and is located east of Unser and north of Black Arroyo Road. Operations are anticipated to begin in November of 2010.

UNM has yet to break ground. UNM officials hope the hospital will be operating by late 2010 or early 2011.

Initially, Presbyterian will employee 500 people, have 140 physicians and a payroll of $50 million. The hospital will have 120 private patient rooms, a four-story medical office building, full-service emergency department with a helicopter pad, a state-of-the-art women’s center, labor and delivery and a neonatal intensive care unit. Presbyterian also will offer intensive care, operating rooms and a catheterization lab.

UNM Hospital will be downtown, near the City Center. The hospital will initially have 125 beds staffed by 33 physicians and will be open to community doctors.

Eventually, the hospital will employ 800 people.

Voters in Rio Rancho, Corrales and western Bernalillo gave the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority authorization to issue up to $18 million in bonds to pay for drainage and flood control projects.

SSCAFCA covers flood control issues west of the Rio Grande to the Rio Puerco, north to US 550 and south to Bernalillo County. The current SSCAFCA tax is 1.482 mills with .870 mills going to debt and .612 going to operational costs.

The "yes" vote extends the .87 mill debt service so that $18 million in bonds can be authorized and used for the construction of dams, channel stabilizations and improvements, drainage improvements and other construction and maintenance projects to keep Rio Rancho safe in the event of future floods.

It does not raise the tax rate.

David Stoliker, executive director of SSCAFCA, thanked the voters for their support.

"SSCAFCA appreciates the public’s confidence in ability for us to continue to do work," Stoliker said. "We are protecting the public health, safety and welfare for our community. We very much want to continue the good works we have provided to the public. We see it as a sign of support of us doing the right thing and we will continue to do the right thing.