We applaud the Adams County Board of Supervisors’ move on Monday to deny an appeal by the owners of Merit Health Natchez — Community Health Services — to lower its property tax assessment by almost two-thirds.

Even the thought of doing such, after the bargain-basement deal CHS got in purchasing the former Natchez Regional Medical Center, is enough to make one’s blood pressure spike to the point of needing a trip to the Merit Health Natchez emergency room.

Supervisor Mike Lazarus commented CHS’s purchase of the former Natchez Regional as “the deal of the century.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Adams County Tax Assessor Reynolds Atkins has assessed the value of the hospital and the land on which it sits at $23,999,959. In addition, Adkins had a second assessment completed by an independent contract before the hospital was sold, which valued the hospital and land at $24 million.

However, at a tax assessment protest hearing at Monday’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting, Merit’s parent company asked to have the property valued at a lower amount — much lower.

CHS produced someone hired from Property Valuation Services, who claims the hospital should only be valued at $7 million. They apparently based that amount somehow on the hospital’s purchase price.

That’s laughable, particularly since the land alone may be worth nearly that figure.

Community Health Services purchased the hospital for $10 million and as part of the deal agreed to pre-pay $8 million in taxes in order to cover the bankrupt hospital’s debts and closing costs.

Lazarus summarized the request as the new owners trying to back out of that deal.

Thankfully, supervisors denied the hospital’s request.

Community Health Services stands to make much in profit from our hospital and our residents. It should meet the obligations it agreed to when it got the “deal of the century” before seeking another deal. Taxpayers are still licking their wounds from the last deal.