CMH Foundation extends olive branch

INVERNESS — The Citrus Memorial Health Foundation board took a significant step Monday night in settling a long-standing governance dispute by agreeing to equally share oversight with the Citrus County Hospital Board.

Foundation members voted 6-2 on a 7-7-1 board makeup: seven foundation members, seven trustees or their appointees and the hospital’s medical chief of staff.

The proposed settlement also calls for the CCHB to provide $5.4 million in tax funding to the hospital by April 1.

The proposal also would seek to end all existing litigation between the two sides, including Citrus Memorial Health System’s challenge of a 2011 governance law that last month was overturned by the First District Court of Appeal. Trustees have already voted to appeal that decision to the Florida Supreme Court, and last week Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office said it would join trustees in the appeal.

Trustees had sought a 5-5-1 split of foundation and hospital board members. By suggesting a 7-7-1 makeup, all current foundation members may stay on board.

Foundation attorney Clark Stillwell said the suggested board makeup would not require a law amendment to add two trustees to the five-member hospital board.

Instead, the new board would have those five members and two additional members appointed by trustees. The seven foundation existing foundation members could not veto the trustees’ appointments.

The proposal would require a supermajority vote of at least 11 members to approve items such as hiring the chief executive officer, approving the foundation budget and backing unbudgeted capital expenditures above $1 million.

The settlement offer now goes to the hospital board for consideration.

Contact Chronicle reporter Mike Wright at 352-563-3228 or mwright@chronicleonline.com.