Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Partners topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners shift several community partner requests to behavioral-health fund; Lawrence Shelter cut debated
Summary
Douglas County staff and commissioners agreed to move multiple community-partner lines into the behavioral-health fund and to pledge one-time capital support for Bert Nash; the Lawrence Community Shelter saw proposed reductions with debate on fit for behavioral-health funding.
Douglas County commissioners moved several community-partner budget lines into the behavioral-health fund during July 13 deliberations while debating targeted cuts and one-time capital pledges.
Brooke (staff) explained staff had plugged values to move several community partners from general-fund community-support lines into the behavioral-health bucket; commissioners signaled majority support for moving the permanent supportive housing program and tenant/homeowner programs into the behavioral-health fund. Brooke noted the permanent-supportive-housing cost was entered into the spreadsheet so commissioners could see mill-levy impacts.
The Lawrence Community Shelter (LCS) prompted sharper disagreement. Commissioner (S2) reported a recommendation to reduce LCS funding from $2.96 million to $100,000 and move the remainder to behavioral health; other commissioners observed many LCS clients have behavioral-health needs and supported moving some funding. Commissioner (S7) recommended graduated reductions across multiple partners to encourage braided funding and better budget detail.
On capital asks, commissioners signaled support for a one-time $500,000 request for the Baldwin City EDC—options included taking some dollars from the equipment reserve or fund balance and returning the transfer to the commission by resolution. The Chair (S1) said she supported fully funding Baldwin City’s request but asked staff to confirm whether moving funds by resolution would affect today’s mill-levy calculations.
Commissioners also discussed a conditional pledge to fund Bert Nash Youth Recovery Center’s capital request from the behavioral-health fund; Sarah (staff) summarized that staff’s recommended pledge included a requirement that outside funding be raised before county dollars would be released. Several commissioners signaled majority support for that one-time pledge, subject to timing and conditions.
Outcome: commissioners approved moving multiple community-partner lines to the behavioral-health fund as staff suggested and gave direction for staff to prepare necessary notices and a resolution for any transfers. Several particular program funding decisions were deferred until staff recalculates impacts and returns with updated spreadsheets.
