After losing money last year, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors may be able to withdraw money from the hospital trust fund this year, according to figures provided by County Administrator Jay Fisher after Monday’s board of supervisors meeting.
The trust was established with $30 million the county received from the sale of the county hospital in 2006. In 2013 state law was changed to allow the county to invest a certain amount of the money in stocks and bonds.
As of Friday, Fisher said the trust fund had $37,254,500 on the books. If the supervisors withdraw money, it will be based on the value on Aug. 31. They can actually withdraw the money at any time, but typically do so after the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
“We are up $1.5 million over last year as of last week,” Fisher told The Dispatch after Monday’s meeting.
Due to a volatile stock market, the fund actually fell over 2021-22. As of Aug. 31, 2022, the balance had fallen to $35,758,768, which was a decrease of $3,062,899 from the previous year. That decrease meant the county couldn’t draw down any money — each budget year the county may make a withdrawal of up to 3% of the value of the investments, but not if the balance goes down.
Fisher said he felt confident the board could withdraw money this year, but he couldn’t say how much yet.
“It would be nice to pull out around $1 million this year,” Board President Trip Hairston said. “We would use that money to enhance some kind of infrastructure for the county.”
In the past money from the hospital fund has been used for capital improvements projects, including the health department building on Lehmberg Road and the new Justice Court building on Martin Luther King Drive.
The supervisors have pulled a total of $7.3 million out of the trust fund since 2014, with the single largest withdrawal of $1.2 million taking place in 2021, according to numbers Fisher provided.
ARPA for HVAC
The board voted 4-0 to spend about $840,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to replace the HVAC system at the courthouse. District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders was not present.
Architect Joey Henderson of JBHM Architecture told the board there were three bidders: Acy Mechanical, Brislin Inc. and Upchurch Services LLC. Brislin was the low bidder at $824,000.
Henderson also recommended accepting a $16,950 alternate bid for a one-year service agreement.
Henderson said the bid was within the estimate, which was between $760,000 and $920,000.
Henderson said Brislin had 18 months to do the work. The long contract time was necessary due to the difficulty getting parts.
“It’s probably going to be 10 to 12 months before we get the equipment,” Henderson said. “You’re not going to see a lot of activity for these first few months because it’s just about getting the equipment.”
Hairston told The Dispatch after the meeting the HVAC at the courthouse had “been on the prayer list” for a long time. He estimated the current chiller was 20 to 30 years old.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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