Oxford Baptist Trust Fund tops $43.2 million, boosts Oxford budget

The Oxford Baptist Trust Fund climbed past $43.2 million, and the city of Oxford will receive just over $1.2 million from it for the upcoming fiscal year. For a local asset tied to the old Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi site on South Lamar, that payout remains one of the clearest ways the trust shows up in everyday city budgeting.

The money began with the 2012 sale of the former hospital property, when proceeds were set aside for Oxford and Lafayette County. City records say the Oxford Reserve and Trust Fund was created to hold those proceeds, and the city’s official reserve and trust page says the Oxford Reserve and Trust Committee was appointed by the mayor and Board of Aldermen to invest them. The fund’s fiscal year runs from April 1 through March 31, and city records say only earnings, not principal, may be used for purposes that support city programs.

That structure has made the trust a recurring source of flexible local revenue rather than a one-time windfall. Oxford’s share has been used over the years for items residents can see and feel, including parks and public safety support, while the annual payout has helped bolster the general fund. In 2016, the fund had earned about $5.4 million since inception, with long-term goals described as capital preservation, real growth after inflation of about 2.5 percent, and an annual 3 percent payout to the city.

The numbers have grown steadily since then. By 2017, the Baptist fund was generating about $850,000 in earnings on average each year. A 2022 report put the fund at about $39 million and the annual 3 percent payout at around $1.176 million. City officials later said the reserve and trust fund was around $40 million in 2025, with $12 million already invested in community projects.

The new valuation also reflects a rebound after a rougher 2023, when both the city and Lafayette County trust funds took a hit. A 2024 Oxford Eagle report said the funds recovered the following fiscal year, underscoring how closely local leaders watch the investment performance. Lafayette County’s share, also rooted in the 2012 hospital sale, has remained an important revenue source as well.

For Oxford, the trust now functions as more than an investment account. It is a line of support that helps pay for local priorities without touching the principal, and the latest $43.2 million valuation shows how much of the city’s financial cushion still rests on the South Lamar sale made 14 years ago.