The Leflore County Board of Supervisors has arranged for Greenwood Leflore Hospital to spread out most of its $229,000 bonded debt over 12 months, eliminating the need to raise taxes to balance the county's 2004 budget.
But the $8.6 million general fund budget the board passed Thursday does require an increase in health insurance costs for county employees to account for rises in insurance premiums.
The board passed the budget assuming hospital officials would agree to the deal that would relieve the county of shouldering the debt. And they did this morning.
Under the agreement, the hospital will pay off $100,000 on the bond service by Oct. 1 with the promise to finish off the rest in the next 12 months.
Hospital officials originally asked the county to cover the debt, which contributed to a $500,000 budget shortfall that supervisors were trying to patch over. Factoring in a 5 percent cut in the county's general operation expenses, the budget came out even.
District 1 Supervisor Phil Wolfe suggested that hospital administrators set up regular meetings with the board from now on.
"There might be things we can help you with," he said. "We've only had two meetings recently - one when you had the $22 million expansion and the other when the economy crashed."
"And both have been shock treatments," added Board President Robert Moore, who represents District 2.
The budgetary balancing act means taxes will not increase except for areas inside the county school district that are not in the volunteer fire department and solid waste taxing districts, mostly in Itta Bena. Taxes are increasing there because the Leflore County School District raised its millage rate .41 mills, a difference the rest of the county dodged because of lowered firefighting and solid waste expenses.
For affected residents, the .41-mill addition will amount to $4.10 higher in taxes per $100,000 of assessed value.
While putting a check on taxes with the hospital agreement, the board was able also to avoid what Chancery Clerk Sam Abraham estimated would be as much as a 3-mill tax increase for the entire county if its employees' health insurance package had remained the same.
A new package that will raise deductibles from $200 to $500 passed on a 3-1 vote, with District 5 Supervisor Arvel Burden opposing and District 3 Supervisor Jimmie Barnes absent.
Co-payments for prescription drugs and visits to the doctor's office will go up also.
The increase will affect employees only if they get sick or injured, but Burden was concerned that banking on good health is too risky.
"I know we've got some people out there who really can't afford this," he said.
Moore, though, said there was little else the board could do. He hopes a 3-percent raise supervisors passed in April for all county employees will be a trade-off to shoulder some of the extra burden.
"I guess this is just one of the times we can say thank God the employees got a raise during this particular year because if they did not, this would be a double whammy," Moore said.
With all the changes, Abraham said the county is on solid financial ground for the future.
"If we keep the expenditures down, I feel we won't lose any reserves. We will actually gain in reserves," he said. "I'd like to commend the Board of Supervisors for their hard work and diligence to keep the taxes down."
