Today, November 21, the Board of Commissioners held a Special Meeting in order to hear an introductory presentation on Community Mental Health’s (CMH) funding risks and the potential conversion of our CMH from a county department to an independent Authority.
If the Board of Commissioners chooses to make this change, it takes 9 months to a year to convert to an Authority and would involve 3 public hearings. Currently, 78 of 83 Counties have an Authority. An outline was shared via a powerpoint regarding the critical path for a CMH Authority if the Board chooses to move forward (powerpoint available on video).
At the conclusion of the meeting, a motion was made and approved 8-1 to authorize the County Administrator to develop and return to the Board with a proactive recommended strategy intended to minimize the financial risk to taxpayer dollars, retain quality employees, and ensure the continuation of quality mental health services to our community with a timeline.
To better understand the reasons for a first discussion and overview today, I encourage you to listen to the meeting:
Community Mental Health serves an extremely important role in our community. As more information is shared, I look forward to robust discussion and listening to staff, families, recipients of mental health services, community partners and my fellow commissioners.
