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Williamson County commissioners approve temporary outside counsel as hospital sale debate continues
Summary
Commissioners approved a temporary outside counsel rate after heated debate over conflicts tied to Williamson Health’s strategic planning. The board also passed a separate resolution asking state lawmakers to allow county oversight of any proceeds if the county-owned hospital were sold.
Williamson County commissioners voted to approve a temporary engagement and hourly rate for outside counsel to advise the county on Williamson Health questions as the hospital’s board continues a strategic planning process that could include a change of ownership.
The commission approved hiring a mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer at a rate of $900 an hour, with the mayor’s office committing to revisit that engagement in January. The vote followed sharp questions from commissioners who raised concerns about conflicts of interest when the same law firm has advised both the hospital and county officials.
Jesse Neal, the attorney the county approved to retain, said he has specialized experience advising governmental hospitals and local governments on transactions. “I advise them both in terms of evaluating transactions … and then if the choice to move forward is where they reach, then I help them execute,” Neal said in remarks to the commission.
Williamson Health CEO Phil Mazuca told the commission the hospital board remains in an information-gathering phase and is not close to a decision. “We do not expect to provide any significant updates on our comprehensive strategic planning process until 2026,” Mazuca said. He reiterated that any board decision to sell would be subject to applicable law and county approval.
Separately, commissioners passed a resolution asking the Tennessee General Assembly to consider a private act or statutory change that would allow Williamson County — whose taxpayers own most of the hospital’s physical plant — to receive and control proceeds if county-owned hospital property were sold. Supporters argued the county’s elected representatives should decide how sale proceeds are spent; opponents warned that placing funds in a county general fund could erode long-term health-focused endowments.
Commissioners who backed the request to change state law said current state statute constrains proceeds to health-related uses and to private foundations rather than county oversight. Commissioner Greg Lawrence, sponsor of the request, said taxpayers have financed the hospital for decades and “if the property owned by taxpayers sells, those proceeds should come back to this body.”
The commission voted 22–1 to approve the temporary counsel engagement and later adopted the legislative-request resolution by the two-thirds margin required for such measures.
