Douglas County outlines behavioral health fund uses; staff flag housing, 0‑suicide and substance use as priorities

Douglas County staff and partners on (presentation date) gave the Board of County Commissioners a detailed status update of the county’s behavioral health fund, how the fund has been used to expand local services and how staff plan to prioritize dollars in the 2026 budget.

County Administrator Sarah Plinske and staff presented the fund’s high‑level numbers and policy priorities. Plinske said annual revenue into the behavioral health fund is about $12.7 million, composed of approximately $6.6 million from the county’s quarter‑cent behavioral health sales tax and about $5.2 million in property‑tax‑derived transfers that previously supported behavioral health in the general fund. Staff said ongoing expenditures in 2025 are about $10.8 million and onetime capital spending in 2025 was about $3.1 million.

Why it matters: the behavioral health fund supports a range of services the county and partners have expanded in recent years — from crisis response and mobile teams to supportive housing, school‑based “wrap” services and substance use treatment. Commissioners and…