Billy Guice thinks SRHS pension plan trustee Steve Simpson is not doing a good job. In a recent JCBOS meeting, Guice criticized Simpson’s handling of the plan’s funds and also with Simpson’s apparent lack of transparency.
Guice went on to say that Simpson would not have been his first choice for trustee. Simpson wasn’t the first choice for Judge Hilburn; he was the sixth. Guice said that he preferred a professional trustee with trust experience, something Simpson lacks. The bulk of Simpson’s legal experience has been in criminal matters.
Guice went on to say that his choice would have been The Peoples Bank in Biloxi. No doubt that Guice would be comfortable with Peoples, as he and his family have a long relationship with the bank. When you look specifically at the trust department you find:
That’s right, Billy Guice wanted to put his (ex)wife in charge of the pension trust. Ms. Guice, by all appearances, is everything you would want in a trust officer. The problem lies in that her (ex)husband is an attorney involved in ongoing litigation over that very trust.
One episode of nepotism was avoided in not selecting Peoples Bank. It was trumped by cronyism with the appointment of Simpson.
The unilateral selection of Simpson by a now recused judge (with the complicity of SRHS) is still a mystery. The better course would have been to select a bank/trust company with absolutely no ties to Jackson County (or perhaps even the State). While such professional trust companies do not come cheap, selecting one of them could have begun the process of restoring confidence in the handling of the pension plan.
Just because you are a lawyer and smart does not mean you are qualified to handle a multi-million dollar trust with thousands of beneficiaries. Controversy and intrigue about Simpson still swirl, which does nothing but sow doubt among retirees and employees, and the credibility and necessity for the proposed class action settlement. If he truly cares about what’s best for the trust and its beneficiaries, then Mr. Simpson needs to resign and allow professional, experienced management to take over.