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After reporting shortfalls, commissioners release $464,534 to Centerstone for 2022–23 after state confirms filings
Summary
Following a multi-year dispute over statutory reporting, the board voted to release withheld payments covering 2022 and 2023 to Centerstone after county counsel and state agency confirmation; commissioners will continue to withhold payment for 2024 until local reporting for that year is provided.
The Board of Commissioners voted Oct. 6 to release invoices withheld from Centerstone, the county’s designated community mental health provider, for 2022 and 2023 after the state provided missing reporting components the county had been seeking.
County attorney Chad Smith (present) explained the county withheld payments beginning in 2022 because Centerstone had not supplied reports required under state law (transcript cited Ind. Code § 12-29-2-16 as amended). Smith told the board that the state’s Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) had received the missing element of the filings for 2022 and 2023. With the required documentation now supplied, Smith recommended the county make the previously withheld reimbursements.
The invoices to be released total $226,755 for 2022 and $237,779.04 for 2023, for a combined total of $464,534.04. Commissioners voted to approve payment of those two years’ invoices. The board agreed to continue withholding funds for 2024 until the county receives equivalent reporting for that year and confirmed its expectation that Centerstone must provide county-specific records required by statute.
Commissioners and counsel emphasized the action was procedural and tied to the county’s statutory duty to pay the designated provider when reporting requirements are met; they said the county has kept the funds in the relevant fund pending resolution. The board’s approval is intended as a step to resume normal funding flow after compliance.
The board did not approve payment for 2024 pending receipt of that year’s local reporting and documentation.
