Chickasaw County directs draft of restricted donations account for Public Health

The Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors voted May 26 to direct the county attorney to draft a resolution establishing a restricted, interest‑bearing donations account for Public Health.

The request followed a report that a citizen had given a $1,000 check made out to ‘Chickasaw County Public Health.’ Staff explained that without a restricted account the gift would default to the county general fund and would not be available for designated projects until a future budget amendment. A Board of Health representative asked supervisors to allow the public health director discretion to use donated funds for projects “beyond the general budget.”

Supervisors and staff compared the proposed public‑health account to other county restricted funds used for EMS and K‑9 programs. Officials noted the extra administrative work of creating a new fund and discussed whether the new account should earn interest and the timing for a budget amendment to authorize spending.

Chair (speaker 1) moved and a supervisor seconded the action directing the county attorney’s office to draft the resolution; the board voted in favor and agreed to review the final document at the next meeting. Staff said the resolution would include department coding (suggested as department 23) and that any spending in the current fiscal year would require a later budget amendment.

Next steps: staff will prepare estimated account numbers and drafting language for the resolution; the county attorney will prepare the formal resolution for the board’s review and possible adoption at an upcoming meeting.