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Commissioners partially fund DECA requests and move disputed solar-panel item out of behavioral-health fund
Summary
After debate, commissioners agreed to provide DECA $25,000 for special alcohol purposes (instead of a $125,000 retroactive ask), funded a DECA tenant-based rental assistance request, and directed staff to move a DECA transitional-housing solar-panel request to the general fund rather than the behavioral-health sales tax fund.
Douglas County commissioners discussed several DECA (Downtown Emergency and Community Assistance) requests and how to treat special-alcohol tax money that historically supported opioid-related services.
DECA had asked for a $125,000 allocation covering multiple prior years; commissioners expressed discomfort with funding what was described as retroactive requests and with the lack of a structured application process for special-alcohol allocations. After discussion, several commissioners recommended a partial, onetime payment of $25,000 for 2026 with a plan to develop clearer eligibility criteria and an application process for the special-alcohol and municipalities-fight-addiction funds in the fall. One commissioner said DECA could return this fall with a more detailed plan.
Commissioners also approved a DECA client tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) request of roughly $104,400 from the behavioral-health fund and included other DECA-related behavioral-health items in the budget package.
A separate DECA request to place solar panels on transitional housing units—originally proposed to be paid from the behavioral-health sales tax capital balance—drew questions about energy production claims, net metering in Kansas, the practicality of a two-panel system on all-electric units, and whether the county should fund solar infrastructure for a nonprofit partner. Commissioners and staff agreed to move that onetime capital request into the general fund (or another appropriate capital account) rather than take it from the behavioral-health sales tax fund. Staff were asked to verify bidding and grant/utility incentive details.
Staff said they would return in the fall with a proposed process for special-alcohol allocations and clarified that other special-alcohol projects already had been included in the proposed budget.
