OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – More than 150 residents have signed a petition urging the board of supervisors to place $30.5 million in net proceeds from the sale of OCH Regional Medical Center into a long-term reserve and trust fund, rather than spending it.
Shelton Jones approached the board during its meeting Monday with about a dozen pages of signatures, calling on the board to emulate the Lowndes County Reserve and Trust Fund.
“By adopting this approach, our community can benefit from advanced infrastructure without future overburdening local taxpayers,” Jones told the board. “… Oktibbeha County can emulate these proven strategies by mirroring the Lowndes County Reserve and Trust fund, thereby ensuring that our recent hospital sale proceeds not only serve near future needs but also provide for future generations.”
The sale of OCH closed in October, and supervisors are poised to pocket about $30.5 million in net proceeds after accounts payable, outstanding hospital debts and other costs are paid.
Since then, supervisors have discussed a number of options for how to allocate the funds, with proposed plans so far ranging from dividing some or all of the money among the five supervisor districts for discretionary projects to investing the money in an endowment.
Jones and co-author Buddy Staggers began circulating the petition to friends, neighbors and businesses throughout the city and county about a week ago. Staggers said everyone he’s spoken to so far believes the decision to endow the funds is a “no-brainer.”
“I’m just an old country banker, but I know a good deal when I see one,” Staggers told The Dispatch. “Spending a pot of money like that on some short-term projects and the money’s gone doesn’t make as much sense as investing that large pot and letting it earn money each year and be a source of funds for the county in perpetuity, forever.”
Lowndes County created its trust in 2013 after the sale of its hospital nearly a decade earlier, depositing about $30 million to be managed and more aggressively invested into a mix of bonds, stocks and cash.
Over the years, the trust has grown to about $40 million, with the county having already pulled another $10 million for capital projects. Withdrawals have funded capital improvement projects throughout the county, including renovating the health department building on Lehmberg Road, the Justice Court building on Martin Luther King Drive and the E-911 Center next to the courthouse.
This year, a roughly $1 million withdrawal will go toward servicing the debt from the construction of the BankFirst Yards sportsplex off Highway 82 west of Columbus.
“We want to create … a similar kind of vehicle to where we can get our money to work in the markets and, over a long period of time, create some earning for … the supervisors to spend on good county projects,” Staggers said. “We don’t want to use this pot of money to pave a road or build a bridge (and) the money’s gone. It’s not earning money.”
Steve Langston, owner of Sullivan’s Business and Office Supply, collected between 30 and 40 of the signatures himself.
“It’s a one-time payment, and we don’t have other assets that you would probably ever sell,” Langston told The Dispatch. “So this is a one-time opportunity to set up … a long range financial plan and have interest and earnings off this money forever, rather than spend it.”
Jones said he will continue gathering signatures until the board takes definitive action.
Residents can find the petition at Tru Grit Trading Company at 9829 MS-25, Sullivan’s Business and Office Supply at 204 E Main St or East Mississippi Lumber Company at 300 Russell St. Residents can also email [email protected] to request a copy of the petition.
Supervisors weigh their options
Board President Marvell Howard said that while no decisions have been made, the board seems to be in agreement that at least a portion of the proceeds should be endowed.
“I think the consensus of the board is 100% in favor of endowing funds from OCH hospital sale,” Howard told The Dispatch. “… It could be a portion of it. It could be all of it. We’re exploring different options on what would be the best thing to do as far as endowing the funds. Portion of it, all of it, we haven’t arrived at that decision yet.”
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer told The Dispatch he still supports dividing the money evenly among the five districts for immediate projects, while reserving some for a trust.
“I am still in favor of my original perspective,” Trainer said. “… The county has so many different things that’s going on. I just think we need to do a variety of things. We need to spend some, save some and give some away. The thing is, that money does belong to everyone, and I do respect the individuals who made the suggestion.
“I know people say, let’s not put it on roads, but these roads have been around here for years, and they’re going to be with us for years,” he added later. “So anything that we do to improve our road structure, it’s not going to be money wasted, in my opinion.”
District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver and District 4 Supervisor Patti Little both support placing all proceeds into a trust. District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams did not voice his opinion during the meeting and did not return calls or texts to The Dispatch by press time.
State law limits counties to conservative investments such as certificates of deposits and government-backed bonds. To invest in higher-yield assets, Oktibbeha County must seek local and private legislation.
Earlier this year, the board authorized County Administrator Wayne Carpenter and Board Attorney Rob Roberson to begin developing the language and planning for such legislation. The board must approve and finalize the proposal by January for consideration during the next legislative session. If passed, the trust structure could take effect in June, Roberson wrote in a text to The Dispatch.
Howard said, with that in mind, the board still has time to deliberate.
“I don’t know when we’ll be completely done with gathering all the information, but I do know that … setting up the endowment won’t happen until next year,” he said. “So following through the process, we’ve got time to make those decisions.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
