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Paulding County asked to guarantee roughly $61 million for WellStar hospital expansion
Summary
Paulding County officials heard a presentation requesting the county’s support for up to a roughly $61 million local guarantee to underpin bond financing for a proposed $300 million expansion of the county hospital campus; the board reviewed related TEFRA paperwork and a prior public hearing drew no speakers.
Charles Brock, identified in the meeting as the Paulding County Hospital Authority’s representative to WellStar’s board, told commissioners the hospital expansion’s total project figure presented to the board is about $300 million and that the county is being asked to guarantee roughly 20% — about $61 million — to enable tax-exempt bond financing.
"We're asking for $61 million guarantee from Paulding County," Brock said during his presentation, describing WellStar’s cash contribution and the planned bond structure. He said WellStar is contributing cash toward the project (presented in the meeting as $80 million) and that the planned bond issuance would cover the remainder.
Bond counsel Matt McCabe, who identified himself as representing the law firm shown in the meeting materials, explained that the county’s support reflects certificate-of-need calculations and the financing plan. "That’s how we get to that $61 million amount," McCabe said while describing the statutory and certificate-of-need steps that have preceded the board presentation.
Counsel also explained the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) process required when local bodies consider approving tax-exempt private-activity financing. Staff noted a required public TEFRA hearing was held after notice in the Dallas New Era and that no members of the public attended to comment at that hearing.
The packet and presentations included figures for the proposed financing and two related draft resolutions (one described in the meeting as resolution 2026-09 and a separate authorizing action for revenue anticipation certificates). The meeting record includes the presentations and the staff recommendation to proceed with the TEFRA-resolution step; the transcript does not record a final roll-call vote on the resolution during this session.
Next procedural step: the board considered adopting the TEFRA-related resolution and taking action on the intergovernmental agreement and bond authorization; the meeting transcript does not show whether the board completed a formal vote on those items during this session.
