Advisers compare tax and proceeds estimates for Ascension and HCA offers

Advisers told the committee that the two leading offers differ in structure and in how much cash would be available to the county after debt repayment and required escrows. Ascension proposed a 5‑year in‑lieu payment of $4,000,000 annually (Ascension’s proposal described that payment stream and the presenter discussed a 10% discount rate used to compute a present‑value figure), while HCA provided estimates for annual property tax benefit (presented as $1,200,000) and local option sales/use tax (presented as $700,000), and the presenter converted those flows to net present values for comparison.

The presenter (Speaker 3) also outlined debt and escrow mechanics: the county and Williamson Health would retain responsibility for most existing debt in an asset sale, with advisers noting roughly $178,000,000 of long‑term bonds and $10,000,000 of short‑term obligations that must be repaid or addressed in an escrow arrangement. Ascension’s proposal includes a $70,000,000 escrow that the presenter said could flow back to proceeds if not used to cover post‑closing claims; HCA’s proposal included a $100,000,000 foundation approach (presenter described half of the $100,000,000 as escrowed and half placed into a foundation with net‑worth maintenance requirements). The presenter agreed to provide backup tables and net‑present‑value workpapers to commissioners at their request.