The bill would authorize county commissioners to act in the place of an ADAMHS board.
“The mechanics of the bill are that if a board of county commissioners unanimously agrees that the ADAMHS board is doing something in their determination where they need to take it over...they can then take over the budget of the ADAMHS board,” Antani said.
Once they’ve resolved the issues, they can give the budgetary powers back to the ADAMHS board, Antani said. For ADAMHS districts with more than one county, the county commissioners from each of the counties in that district would have to agree on taking over control of the ADAMHS board and acting in place of it.
Other local lawmakers are supportive but want even broader changes.
“We’re looking at restructuring the entire board,” said state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., who said he was working with state Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp.
Ohio has county-operated behavioral health districts, which fall under the oversight of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Currently, there are different options for the number of people required to sit on a board of trustees for a behavioral health district, such as 18, 15, 14, 12 or nine members, according to state law. The size of the board is determined by the county commissioners represented in that district.
Many behavioral health districts in Ohio include multiple counties, but Montgomery County is a single-county district. Two-thirds, or nine people, of the board of trustees for Montgomery County ADAMHS are appointed by the county commissioners, and one-third, or five people, are appointed by the state.
“We want to create a new structure for the board, which would include elected officials from cities and townships, people that are actually in the trenches and know what the issues are that they’re seeing,” Plummer said. “We have to expand the horizon here.”
Prior to the reduced funding announced in August, Montgomery County ADAMHS faced setbacks this summer when the provider they were contracted with to provide mental health crisis services pulled out of the county. Financial losses in the millions were cited by RI International in its reasoning why it will no longer be providing services to the county.
This setback drew the ire of multiple county leaders and partners, including the county commissioners, who at one point threatened future funding to Montgomery County ADAMHS in a joint letter to the board of trustees.
“We got ripped off by RI International, and I’m trying to get the state auditor to audit that,” Plummer said.
“I don’t think people are watching this close enough,” he said.
In regard to Antani’s proposed bill, Helen Jones-Kelley, executive director of Montgomery County ADAMHS, was skeptical county commissioners would want the extra work.
“I think it’s set up the way it is for a reason, which doesn’t force another responsibility on them,” Jones-Kelley said.
County commissioners already have oversight in the form of appropriating local funds to the Montgomery County ADAMHS board, Jones-Kelley said. If the county commissioners then took over operating the budget, they would have to set the budget and direct expenditures, she said.
The county commissioners want additional input from the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, they said in a joint statement to the Dayton Daily News.
“ADAMHS is a completely independent body from the Board of County Commissioners, per Ohio Revised Code. Any changes in ADAMHS governance would require a change in ORC, and we believe any position on this proposed legislation requires discussion and a consensus from the County Commissioners Association of Ohio,” said the county commissioners.
Antani’s bill has been filed and is expected to be introduced in the next non-voting session of the Ohio Senate.
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