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Hall County approves roughly $110,500 contract for inmate mental-health services and widens funding flexibility
Summary
The Hall County Board of Commissioners approved a one-year inmate mental-health services contract with a monthly rate of $9,208.33 (about $110,499.96 annually) and removed a cap in the contract language so services could be expanded, including potential use of opioid funds; the motion passed unanimously.
The Hall County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a one-year contract for inmate mental-health services and authorized the board chair to sign, the board said during its meeting.
Todd, a county staff member who presented the contract, told commissioners the agreement lists a monthly payment of $9,208.33 and an annual total in the neighborhood of $110,499.96. He proposed changing a clause that had restricted expansion of service hours so the county could “have that flexibility going forward” if it chooses to deploy opioid-settlement funding to broaden program services. “I’m just proposing just to open that up a little bit so that we can have some flexibility if we do something with the opioid money,” Todd said.
The change removes a numerical cap on additional weekly hours and instead allows services to be expanded “upon written mutual agreement between the contractor and the county,” according to the contract language described in the meeting. Commissioners asked questions about whether the amended language could keep the contract within existing budgeted payroll lines; presenters said the contract as structured would still be cost-competitive with prior approaches and could avoid additional benefit costs.
After discussion, a commissioner made a motion to approve the agreement as amended and to authorize the chair to sign; the motion carried by a voice vote with seven affirmative votes.
Why it matters: the contract funds 24/7 coverage and hourly mental-health services for individuals in the county jail. Broadening allowable funding sources and removing rigid hourly caps may allow the county to expand services quickly if additional grant or opioid-settlement funds become available. The board said the authorization to sign is intended to allow timely implementation once administrative details are finalized.
Next steps: staff will finalize the corrected contract pages and proceed with signatures so services can be scheduled and billed under the new terms.
