LAKELAND Lakeland officials will consider whether to accept a $215 million payment from Lakeland Regional Health to end its current hospital lease. Doing so, will have a radical impact on the city s finances.
City commissioners are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to accept a deal in which Lakeland Regional Health would prepay $215 million to fulfill all remaining hospital lease payments through September 2040. Afterward, the hospital would pay the city $10 per year going forward. I m not alone in thinking the hospital lease is one of the most challenging issues to resolve in the coming years, Commissioner Chad McLeod said. This is a win for both sides that brings certainty into the situation.
Lakeland Electric, utility union clash over wages and Unit 3 s closure
LAKELAND The heated clash between Lakeland Electric and its unionized workers is growing stronger as a dispute over fair wages builds on tension regarding Unit 3 s early closure.
Lakeland officials declared they have hit an impasse with the Utility Workers Union of America, which represents about 270 of the city s electric and water utility workers, in attempting to negotiate a new three-year collective bargaining contract. The last contract expired Sept. 30. The city feels that the UWUA wage demands are irresponsible, Lakeland Electric said in a media statement.
Bob Mahoney, a national UWUA representative, said the union was willing to accept no wage increase in fiscal year 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic s financial impact on the city. In exchange, Mahoney said he sought a 3% across-the-board increase in 2022 and 2023.
This appeal is a solemn call for citizens and businesses to put aside convenience in order to pursue a moral mandate of conscientiousness amidst a very atypical time, reads the city s proposed resolution.
Mayor Bill Mutz said he felt perhaps entering a new year has caused people to think overly positively about the pandemic. We ve lost sight of the concerns going into 2021 and felt like it s over when COVID is not over, he said.
The city s proposed resolution calls for residents to take following actions:
Practice social distancing, which includes avoiding large gatherings, maintaining a distance of at least six feet from others who don t live in the same household.
LAKELAND Lakeland s health care providers say the city is squarely within COVID-19 s cone of uncertainty as virus rapidly spreads, pushing hospitals and clinics to their limits.
Dr. Joy Jackson, director of Florida Department of Health in Polk, told Lakeland commissioners there s been a significant increase in emergency room and urgent care visits because of the virus. Across the county, Jackson said there are three times more people hospitalized because of COVID now than in early December. We are in a potentially dangerous situation if we don t take action to increase awareness about the risk, said Danielle Drummond, CEO and president of Lakeland Regional Health.