NEWPORT — New London Hospital and Newport remain locked in a property tax dispute over whether the Newport Health Center should be granted a charitable tax exemption.
The nonprofit hospital, which owns the health center on John Stark Highway, has filed for the exemption every year since 2016 and been denied each time by the Newport assessing department.
The decisions have been appealed in Sullivan County Superior Court.
The hospital has filed essentially the same complaint in court each year, with minor changes such as the amount of property taxes paid to the town.
The complaint filed in August 2018, for example, cites taxes paid of about $207,900 for the tax year 2017 on the two-story, 28,800-square-foot health center. The nearly 2-acre parcel and health center, which opened in 2016 after a $9 million construction project, is assessed at $6.9 million.
Otherwise, the hospital’s arguments for a charitable exemption remain the same. It describes itself as a “charitable entity” performing work in Newport, and argues therefore it shouldn’t have to pay property taxes on the health center.
“Through the Newport Health Center, NLH (New London Hospital Association) seeks to serve the unmet need for local health care options as an important part of NLH’s charitable mission,” the hospital says in its complaint, arguing it provides a “range of health services without regard for a patient’s ability to pay.”
The complaint further states the NLH provided “charity care” to residents of Newport and surrounding areas through the Newport Health Center. The town denied that statement in its response. The hospital also asserts that Valley Regional Hospital, a registered charitable trust in New Hampshire, leases space at the health center and pays rent as does Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic.
“Newport has historically, and as recently as tax year 2016, adjudicated and ruled that Valley Regional is a charitable organization exempt from municipal real estate taxation by Newport and granted Valley Regional a tax exemption on space used and occupied by Valley Regional in the 2016 tax year,” the complaint reads.
In its response, Newport doesn’t dispute many of the facts presented by the hospital with respect to the history of the property but denies that Valley Regional and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic obtained charitable tax exemption for the space they lease.
In another denial, the town agrees that NLH provides health care services to students at Newport Middle High School through the Tiger Treatment Center but said such activities are not charitable.
New London Hospital, which is a member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock system, has paid nearly $644,200 in taxes on the property since 2017.
Part of the case, which fills several thick manila folders with documents, has been appealed to the state Supreme Court. NLH missed a deadline to file for a charitable exemption one year and the town used that as a basis for denying the charitable status. That reasoning was appealed by NLH and Superior Court Judge Bryan Tucker ruled in Newport’s favor.
Matthew Johnson, an attorney for New London Hospital, referred a reporter to Dartmouth-Hitchcock spokesman Rick Adams, who declined comment because the case is in litigation. Messages seeking comment from attorneys for the town were not returned.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
