One tiny example of mental health funding problems

By Iowa City Press-Citizen

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We can understand why the Johnson County Board of Supervisors was reluctant to meet a June 1 deadline for paying a $1 million rebate to the state without anything in writing to show the state actually would then provide $4 million in money the county “desperately needs” for mental health and disability services.

Weeks ago, rather than send a check, the county supervisors unanimously decided to send a certified letter to the state vowing compliance once Gov. Terry Branstad signs into law House File 649 - legislation that includes a new formula for disbursing mental health and disability services appropriations in fiscal 2012.

The appropriation is based on the ending fiscal year balance from fiscal 2010 and counties having less than 10 percent of their budget in reserves. The legislation would allow counties to retroactively adjust their ending fiscal 2010 balance sheet through a rebate to the state to be counted in the pending legislation for additional funding.

Such a rebate is necessary because Johnson County was over that limit because it still had so much federal stimulus money in the reserves - money that the county is currently using.

The situation was a minor dilemma. After all, if the funding formula was to be based on the unadjusted reserve level, then Johnson County would expect to be eligible for only $413,000 in allowed growth for community services.

So, it wasn't surprising that, on the eve of the deadline, the board's unanimity wavered. But the supervisors ultimately did vote 3-2 to reaffirm their decision to send a certified letter rather than the $1 million check.

The good news is that state leaders say:

- They are aware of the situation.

- That any rebate checks sent in by counties won't be cashed until after the law goes into effect and the funding is made available.

- That the Legislature will fix the situation and ensure any counties that didn't send in a check by the deadline still would be able to make a rebate payment and get in line for more funding in fiscal year 2012.

The situation is just one small example of the uncertainty that all levels of government are in when the Iowa Legislature goes into legislative overtime rather than completing their budget discussions well before any end-of-the-fiscal-year deadlines come into play.

And it's also one miniscule example of the many complex dilemmas that will need to be resolved as the state goes through an intense study period over the next seven months to come up with a plan for reforming Iowa's $1.3 billion mental health service program.