The Wayne County Budget Committee met on Monday, January 30, 2023, to discuss the Boyd Cottages Assisted Living facility. Budget Committee members present were Sherrie Powers, Herbert Brewer, Rickey Kelley, Stan Hanback, Tom Mathis, Colby McDonald, and Chairman Jim Mangubat. County Financial Advisor Lori Brasher was present as well.
As the meeting got underway, it was clarified that Boyd Cottages currently owes the county $420,756.52 for previous payrolls the county has covered for them. Ms. Brasher initially recommended that all Boyd Cottages funds be transferred to Fund 202, an enterprise fund in the budget. This would keep Boyd Cottages as its own entity in the budget but still under the county umbrella. Commissioner Powers made a motion to transfer Boyd Cottages to Fund 202, and to recommend this to the full commission. Commissioner Kelley seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
Another motion was made by Herbert Brewer for Boyd Cottages to be run similar to the Highway Department where they would run their own payroll and maintain their retirement while still being under the county umbrella. Commissioner Mathis seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
The committee then began a lengthy discussion of Boyd Cottages’ finances. All the prior motions were rescinded after discovering that a 202 Fund cannot be started with a negative balance.
The topic of conversation focused mainly on how much money Boyd Cottages actually owes the county, and how Boyd Cottages plans to continue operating in the future. Boyd Cottages Administrator Gina Skelton addressed the commission, stating that the facility itself had been forced to make recent repairs to the building that the county paid no part of. Sherrie Powers asked if it would be possible to receive a six-month projection of the facility’s finances, and Hospital Board member Larry Haggard, who was present in the audience, stated that it would be hard to predict what repairs would come up and what the patient census would be over a six-month period.
Lori Brasher stirred up quite a bit of shock among the Budget Committee members when she said that Boyd Cottages’ debt to the county is actually a little over $2 million. She said that the 2020 county audit contained this information, which included old debt of $190,000 along with bonds that were never paid.
Everyone agreed that they were under the impression that Boyd Cottages’ debt was paid off when the county sold the Wayne County Nursing Home. The profit from the sale was in the neighborhood of $4 million, but only $2 million was spent on Boyd Cottages and other bonds and debts the county had. When asked where the other $2 million went, Ms. Brasher stated, “ That’s the two million dollar question!” Ms. Brasher went on to say that she is still digging into old audits and records, hoping to find out more.
The committee discussed the financial issues at the facility at great length, and seemed to come to the conclusion that Boyd Cottages would never be financially stable enough to repay the county what they owe, not to mention the fact that they will more than likely need help in the future to again cover payroll.
Committee member Colby McDonald said that he didn’t want to appear to be the bad guy, but from a business standpoint, the only option that makes sense is for the county to get rid of Boyd Cottages. Sherrie Powers voiced her agreement with McDonald. Two options were discussed: either lease or sell the facility.
Sherrie Powers made a motion to reach out to other entities who may be interested in leasing the facility. Rickey Kelley seconded, and the motion passed on roll call vote with Sherrie Powers, Rickey Kelley, Colby McDonald, and Stan Hanback voting yes, and Herbert Brewer and Tom Mathis passing on the vote.
All the committee members said that they strongly support Boyd Cottages as a much-needed facility in our county. They said that they are dedicated to finding a way to keep it open, but the county simply cannot continue to financially support them as they have in the past.
The next meeting of the Budget Committee will be on Thursday, February 16 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss insurance for county employees. They will meet again at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21, prior to the regular County Commission meeting at 7:00 p.m.
