Oktibbeha County is about to experience something most counties never do: a windfall of roughly $40 million from the sale of OCH Regional Medical Center. That is, by any measure, an extraordinary sum. What the supervisors choose to do with it could help shape the county for generations.

At Monday’s board meeting, District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer suggested dividing all of the proceeds evenly among the five districts. District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver suggested dividing $15 million of the proceeds, leaving the remainder for an endowment. Other supervisors voiced support, arguing immediate needs in their communities justify that approach.

The impulse to spend the money immediately is understandable. Roads need paving, drainage ditches need work, and supervisors face constant calls to “do something.” But using once-in-a-lifetime proceeds to underwrite everyday projects is precisely the wrong approach.

We have seen both sides of this story. We’ve often told the story of Lowndes’ $30 million hospital trust fund, which has grown to nearly $40 million while also providing $10 million to fund a number of new county facilities. The endowment has supported local needs without eroding the principal. That foresight will continue to pay dividends for the county forever.

It doesn’t always happen that way. A UNC Charlotte study of hospital conversion foundations noted that without firm guardrails, boards that manage the proceeds from a hospital sale often succumbed to pressure to fund short-term projects, leaving little to show a decade later.

The alternative is far more attractive. And it certainly doesn’t have to look exactly like Lowndes’ plan, either. Many communities take the proceeds from the sale of their hospital to create health funds that grant money to health and human service programs for years.

The common theme is disciplined investment.

Trainer’s proposal to carve off $15 million for discretionary use by supervisors risks undermining that type of discipline. It replaces long-term stability with short-term political benefit. Projects that may seem worthwhile today — patching a road, repairing a bridge — are unlikely to provide benefit a decade from now, much less a generation. An endowment, by contrast, will.

The difference between placing the full $40 million in an endowment versus whittling it down to $25 million is not simply $15 million. It is the compounding effect that accrues over decades. A $40 million fund, conservatively invested, might generate $1.5 million or more in annual gains. Over 20 years, that yields $30 million. A $25 million fund, by contrast, might produce only about $1 million annually. The “lost” $15 million in initial principal translates into at least $10 million less in earnings over two decades — and that gap only widens with time. In short, every dollar diverted today is not just gone once; it is gone forever, along with the steady stream of returns it could have provided to future Oktibbeha County citizens.

This is a test of prudence and vision. Oktibbeha County’s supervisors should preserve as much as possible for a trust fund. The future deserves more than a few district-level projects. It deserves a legacy.

Written with the assistance of AI. This editorial has been updated since it was originally published to more accurately explain Trainer’s and Carver’s proposals.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

READER FAVORITES

• 

  Slimantics: AI data centers are a bad deal for Mississippians

  By Slim Smith • 2 days ago