Council weighs undoing permanent trust created from 1999 hospital sale to fund city health plan

City budget staff outlined a proposal to seek authority to change how proceeds from the 1999 sale of Bossier Medical Center are used, saying the current public health and safety trust is permanent and allows spending only interest on the $18 million principal.

Miss Nottingham told the council the trust was created by a public vote in 1999 and “we are only allowed to spend the interest earned on the $18,000,000 that was from the proceeds of the sale.” She said the administration would like to “undo the permanent trust,” which would allow the council, by ordinance, to set a different threshold and use a portion of those proceeds for public health and safety purposes, including fully funding the city’s alternative health insurance fund established by ordinance in 2023.

Staff cited the health-insurance fund’s established minimum of $2,500,000 under the 2023 ordinance; Nottingham said the fund currently holds about $500,000 and using some of the medical-center proceeds would allow the city to “get that fully funded.” Council members raised concerns about the proposal’s legal and fiscal implications: Councilman Hammonds argued the $18 million serves as a backup for the city’s bond rating and urged caution, saying “leave it sitting, leave it drawing the interest” and that taking the money could provoke strong public reaction from those who voted in 1999.

No ordinance was introduced during the meeting. Staff and councilmembers discussed options and asked for further analysis of thresholds and the legal process required to alter a voter-established trust.

Ending: Staff indicated further work and legal review would be required before any ordinance is drafted; councilmembers asked for more information about implications for bond ratings and public notification before advancing any change.