Vineland gets paid as tax fight ends with Inspira hospital system
VINELAND — The hospital system here paid the city more than a half-million dollars to end a property tax dispute.
The out-of-court settlement reached last month helps end Inspira Health Network’s dispute over whether the nonprofit should pay any property taxes on any of its facilities in Vineland.
The $679,371 payment satisfies five years of back taxes on a portion of the regional cancer center at the Inspira hospital campus at 1505 W. Sherman Ave. No other Inspira properties must pay property taxes under the agreement.
City Solicitor Richard Tonetta said the Inspira Frank and Edith Scarpa Regional Cancer Pavilion is subject to taxation because about 13,365 square feet is leased to a for-profit medical group not affiliated with Inspira.
The back taxes cover 2017 and 2020 through 2023. The payments ranged from a high of $144,907 for 2021 to a low of $125,362 for 2023, according to the city.
The city expects to collect another $125,000 approximately in 2024 on the cancer center, which is valued at slightly more than $5 million for tax purposes. Similar amounts will be due in future years.
“We are grateful and appreciate the efforts of Mayor Fanucci to work with Inspira to resolve this litigation,” Inspira Senior President Kathy Scullin-Marinelli said about the agreement.
The agreement between the city and hospital system was signed on Dec. 13, 2023 and also approved by the City Council.
The city had filed in April 2017 in state Tax Court seeking to remove tax exemptions on multiple hospital properties. Inspira fought that and also asked that the properties assessed value for tax purposes be reduced. All those claims now are dropped.
Vineland also receives separately about $300,000 per year from Inspira as a quarterly, per-bed tax authorized in state law. The city says that money, known as the Community Contribution, first was collected in 2022.
The city says Inspira did not make bed tax payments on schedule in 2023. The money eventually was paid but Inspira is assessed an additional $28,000 in late payment interest, the city says.
In 2023, 1 cent on the city tax rate was equal to $390,563. A new city tax rate for 2024 has not been struck.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cash goes to Vineland under settlement with Inspira
