Clallam County published a request for proposals on Sept. 15 for two-year contracts funded by the county’s 1/10-of-1% behavioral-health sales tax. The behavioral health advisory board recommended $1.8 million be put out through the RFP — $900,000 per year for 2026–27 — and held $200,000 in reserve to respond to possible state and federal funding shortfalls expected in 2027.

The sales-tax fund has $2 million available for the cycle; the advisory board voted on Sept. 9 to hold $100,000 per year back instead of allocating the full amount up front. “They decided on that particular dollar amount just because it seemed like…to take from both years,” a health and human services staff member said during the work session, describing the board’s reasoning to preserve flexibility.

The advisory board also updated the RFP funding priorities: unfunded or underfunded behavioral-health services, specialized behavioral-health services, prevention and early intervention, and behavioral-health housing and shelter. To simplify review, county staff created two applications: one for new programs and one for existing programs with no major changes. Proposals are due Oct. 20, and the county plans to recruit four external volunteers to form the proposal review committee because many advisory-board members have conflicts of interest.

County staff told commissioners the reserve will be re-evaluated in early 2027 and possibly reallocated via amended contracts to address service gaps if state or federal shortfalls materialize. “We’re gonna look at reallocating that $200,000…we’ll identify if there’s any other funds that have not been utilized,” a staff presenter said, adding that the advisory board set a policy to keep about 25% of expenditures in a fund reserve.

Commissioners asked about assumptions used to size the RFP and whether departments that now rely on the sales-tax dollars were considered; staff said they gathered 2026 budget requests from county departments and based projections on those asks and current sales-tax trends. Staff also said the county will monitor spending through 2026 and revisit allocations in 2027.

Next steps: the RFP will open immediately; applications are due Oct. 20. County staff will assemble an external review panel and return to the board with award recommendations after reviews are complete.