ANN ARBOR, MI -- Fears of a shortfall in the 2020 Community Mental Health budget were allayed Wednesday when Washtenaw County commissioners approved a balanced budget that incorporated compromises from all parties involved.
No services were cut as part of the budget, despite earlier concerns over initial projections of a $10.3 million shortfall.
A hiring freeze, which is already in place, was incorporated to save money. That freeze affects three vacant positions left by one retirement and two contract workers who will not be renewed for 2020. Two positions also saw a voluntary reduction of hours and one position had a voluntary salary reduction.
“We felt that in order to protect services long-term, we had to look at (administrative reductions) as a cost-savings,” Board Chair Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, said.
The commission on Sept. 4 sent Community Mental Health back to the drawing board after the agency, which provides mental and behavioral health services for Washtenaw County, proposed a budget that called for $4.3 million from the general fund -- more than the commission could allocate.
The $85-million mental health budget that was ultimately approved includes about $3.1 million from the county general fund, along with about $80.2 million from the state, though that figure is an estimate because the state budget has yet to be approved. About $1.1 million will be used from funds raised through the 2017 mental health and public safety millage, which began generating revenue in January.
Though a 2020 deficit was avoided by the mandated Oct. 1 budgeting deadline, commissioners noted the department’s funding issues will continue to be an ongoing issue. Officials attribute the budget woes to state and federal funding failing to keep up with the costs of government-mandated services.
Commissioner Andy LaBarre, D-Ann Arbor, said it’ll take brainstorming and a new perspective from all county officials involved to avoid another deficit for the 2021 budget.
LaBarre said in a Thursday interview he’d like to see how the county could better address funding to give the department resources and staffing it needs to function at its highest capacity.
“We have viewed this challenge as a question of an entity that is dealing with how it expends resources and how its management provides guidance,” LaBarre said. “I think it’s a revenue problem from the state of Michigan and a resource problem where I don’t think we’re quite resourcing it to a level that folks perceive we are and that folks want us to.”
If state funding ultimately comes in at lower levels than current projections, Community Mental Health administrators will have to bring a new budget to the Board of Commissioners that balances service costs with revenue within 45 days, Executive Director Trish Cortes said in a memo to the board.