Council approves contract with statewide behavioral-health partner to fund crisis intervention officer; funding steps down over coming years
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Summary
The council approved a contract with Myberry Iowa Primary Care Association to fund benefits for a crisis intervention officer up to $150,000 for the current year, with scheduled step-down funding in subsequent years and a commitment to revisit additional funding for a mental-health professional within six months.
The Urbandale City Council approved a contract with Myberry Iowa Primary Care Association to provide funding toward the city's crisis intervention team officer position. Police Chief Rob Johansen told the council the association offered funding that will cover up to $150,000 this year for officer benefits; the contract was structured with declining funding in subsequent years (approximately 75% of the amount next fiscal year, then 50%, then 25%). The contract renews automatically unless either party terminates.
Why it matters: the funding will offset local personnel costs for the city's crisis intervention team. Chief Johansen said he and staff also discussed seeking funds for a mental-health professional who works with the team; the association agreed to meet within six months to discuss that possibility.
During the discussion, Chief Johansen and council members addressed data-sharing provisions in the contract. He said the association could request aggregate service data (for example, counts and age breakdowns) and he read the contract as permitting requests for individual records if needed to verify service delivery, though he said he did not expect that to occur. Another council member cautioned that substance use disorder information is highly protected and urged staff to provide aggregate data and to protect individually identifiable records in accordance with Iowa law. Police leadership confirmed that individual records are considered confidential under Iowa Code and advised the council to prioritize aggregate reporting unless specific legal requirements demand more detail.
Chief Johansen also said the city has an existing service contract with Windsor Heights to provide services and that Windsor Heights pays approximately 15% of total cost; the new external funding would reduce the city's out-of-pocket cost and that reduction would be passed to Windsor Heights proportionally. The contract passed after a motion to approve the council letter authorizing the mayor or staff to execute the agreement.
The council did not record a roll-call vote for this item in the transcript excerpt; the motion was moved and seconded and the mayor called for a voice vote that passed.
