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Summit County Council approves FY26 Behavioral Health Local Authority budget and area plan
Summary
Council convened as the Behavioral Health Local Authority, heard a year‑end review of services and outcomes from local behavioral‑health leaders, and approved the FY26 budget and area plan, continuing the contract with Huntsman Mental Health for local service delivery.
Summit County Council convened May 7 as the county’s Behavioral Health Local Authority, received a progress report on services and programming, and approved the FY26 Local Authority budget and area plan.
Christy Frey, Huntsman Mental Health director for Summit County, and local staff summarized service expansions and utilization changes over the past year. The county reported expanded mobile crisis outreach team (MCOT) coverage — extended to 24 hours for most of the week — and said MCOT responded to roughly 463 crisis contacts in Summit County this year, with an average MCOT response time of about 32 minutes for dispatches occurring within the county. Staff said approximately 70% of MCOT encounters resulted in clients remaining in place (diversion from jail or emergency room), with about 31% moved to higher levels of care.
Prevention and partnerships: County prevention staff described a newly invigorated Summit County Mental Wellness Alliance and local prevention campaigns. Staff reported using statewide prevention campaigns (Grey Matters, Know Your Script, Parents Empowered), producing short parenting tips and PSAs viewed thousands of times via county social media, and re‑starting youth coalitions in South and North Summit school districts.
Funding and budget: County staff presented the Local Authority FY26 budget and a breakdown of state, federal and county match funds. The total proposed FY26 operating budget for behavioral health was presented at approximately $4.4 million (all funding sources combined). Staff noted projected formula reductions from the state: a roughly 15% decrease in state mental‑health allocations and a 10% decrease in substance‑use disorder (SUD) allocations with a small increase in prevention funds; staff said the county’s Medicaid match is contractually fixed for five years and that SUD funding is already highly utilized while some mental‑health formula funds are under‑used due to local nonprofit capacity.
Staff said the county anticipates a modest shortfall (approximately $22,000) for SUD services and is negotiating with the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health for flexibility to move funds between lines if needed; staff also described internal local reallocations (swapping funds between lines) used historically to address short falls.
Council action: After discussion and questions from Council members, a motion to approve the FY26 Local Authority budget and area plan carried. Publicly recorded motion language and vote tallies were not recorded in the minutes; Council yielded unanimous consent in the meeting (“All in favor? Aye.”).
Council and staff comment: Council members praised staff for service expansions including the MCOT and the prevention work; staff said Huntsman Mental Health will continue as a contracted provider and the area plan will be submitted to the state as required.
The Council then dismissed as the Behavioral Health Local Authority and reconvened as County Council.
