Boshell explains why city did not provide Lakeland a loan

HALEYVILLE    - Haleyville Mayor Dr. Ray Boshell  issued a statement Sunday night, Feb. 15, regarding the city’s decline of a recent request from Lakeland Community Hospital in Haleyville for the city to provide the hospital a $1 million loan.
The statement was posted by Boshell on the City of Haleyville Mayor’s Facebook page nearly a week after the Winston County Commission voted in its Monday, Feb. 9, meeting to approve a Winston County Unification Resolution, which included a $1 million loan to Lakeland Hospital.
“We want our citizens to know this request was taken seriously and reviewed with care, diligence and a genuine concern for the long-term well-being of our community,” Boshell stated in the Sunday evening post.
“We also must be honest. We cannot give what we do not have,” Boshell added.
Lakeland’s request for a $1 million loan from the Winston County Commission was to help stabilize the hospital financially during its ongoing transition from Acute Care to its present Critical Care designation, which was approved in November, 2025, hospital officials confirmed,
Information related specifically to Lakeland’s request and financial situation is detailed in a separate article on the front page of today’s Alabamian.
Boshell, in his Sunday evening statement, sought to clarify the city’s position on this issue.
“First, we need to be clear, the city continues to provide $1.2 million each year to support the hospital and we are currently indebted through bonds and credit for approximately $8.5 million related to the hospital,” Boshell stated.
“After a thorough review of the financial information provided, careful examination of the city’s own finances and consultation with outside guidance, the city council concluded that providing this loan would place the city and its taxpayers at financial risk,” Boshell stated.
Boshell admitted this was not a quick and easy decision but “was a responsible one,” he said.
“For context, based on the information provided to the city, the hospital’s payroll alone is more than our entire city budget,” said Boshell.
Boshell specifically listed the police, fire department, ball fields, paving, street and sanitation and everything the city does throughout the year, “illustrating the scale of ongoing operational expenses and the magnitude of the financial challenges involved,” he stated.
“The financial structure of a hospital is larger than the financial capacity of a city our size,” he noted.
Boshell continued that in the past, funding of this magnitude required additional taxation.
“We do not believe it is in the best interest of our citizens to impose another tax,” Boshell stated. “The city is not a lending institution and our foremost responsibility is to safeguard the financial stability of the city and the people we serve.”
Boshell added it was important to understand that the city does not own the hospital, with operational, staffing and financial decisions resting solely with the hospital and the Health Care Authority of Haleyville and Winston County Alabama, which owns the hospital  Boshell added that his statement should not be interpreted as a lack of concern for healthcare in the local community.
“On the contrary,” he explained, “it reflects our commitment to protecting essential services, while ensuring the city remains financially strong and stable--both now and in the years ahead.”
Boshell, in his statement, mentioned that Lakeland Hospital has requested a meeting in May.
“The city will offer a public meeting at City Hall to allow discussion of concerns and exploration of operational pathways that may provide long-term stability,” Boshell said.
“Our goal is to act responsibly and always in the best interest of the people we serve,” he added, “because we cannot give what we do not have and will not promise what we cannot sustain.”
This issue was to be discussed at the Tuesday, Feb. 17, city council meeting at the Haleyville City Hall courtroom, with details of that meeting to be printed in an upcoming edition of the Alabamian.