Supervisor Peterson explains changes to SWIA MHDS

County representation on the Southwest Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services Region may be changing.
At the regular board of supervisors meeting March 28, supervisor Mark Peterson, who sits on the board, shared an update on the balance of the board that he felt the public should be made aware of.
“We have nine counties on that board, so there are nine supervisors on the board. There is a bill that is expected to pass the Iowa legislature that says the board will be less than 50% representation by county supervisors,” Peterson explained. “The other members on our board now are people that work for mental health providers, or are family members of those that receive the services.”
With nine supervisors on the board, they would have to add 10 members of other organizations to put the acting supervisors at less than 50%. Peterson said the board felt a 19 member board would be cumbersome.
“As of now, rather than adding to the board, they’re planning on dropping the number of supervisors to a total of six, and the hope is that providers will come from the counties that aren’t represented by a supervisor,” Peterson commented.
While discussions are currently underway, Peterson added that none of the members of the board are happy about the potential change.
“To me, it seems to be a situation of the state meddling more in local control. While there is unhappiness, it almost sounds like it’s a given that the bill is going to pass. It’s discouraging, and I don’t understand what the goal is. I know Supervisor Mike Olson went through a similar situation with the juvenile detention board in Pottawattamie County,” Peterson said.
Peterson also stated the organization has a budget formula that forced the agency to spend down its money, or run the risk of receiving less money the next fiscal year.
“It’s ridiculous, and it’s a very strange formula. They have good projects in mind and it will go to good causes, but they may not have spent that much if the state didn’t require them to do so in order to get the necessary funding next fiscal year,” advised Peterson.
Robinson said the changes with the mental health system in the state have been very confusing over the past five years, and asked if it may be due to a fight between urban areas versus rural areas.
Peterson felt that it could be influencing the situation, and he was interested to see how the voted went on the bills. Peterson said he was also planning on discussing the issues with the county’s legislative representatives, Rep. Tom Moore and Sen. Tom Shipley.
Supervisor Donna Robinson also shared an update on activity at Montgomery County Public Health. At a recent meeting with coordinator Samantha Beeson and Crystal Berkey, who is running the general assistance office, input was sought on the direction the county wanted the office to proceed.
“They may be changing some of the ways the money is paid out from the general assistance office, and so myself and Supervisors Chair Mike Olson visited with them and so there may be some minor changes coming in the next fiscal year,” Robinson said. “Otherwise, things are going very well, and being enforced, and the changes that have already been made have been going smoothly.”
Robinson also participated in a Montgomery County Public Health meeting, and said the homemaker program through MCMH is full.
“There was discussion at the end of the meeting about the homemaker program, which is one of the divisions of public health. They’re looking to make some changes to a sliding fee for the program. There was also a lot of discussion on the criteria to qualify for it. They’re trying to fine tune some things within that department, and we appreciate the efforts that they’re making,” Robinson commented.
Robinson also praised the efforts of the general assistance office, stating they have made a huge savings to the county with the way they are doing things through the office.
Robinson also sits on the Southwest Iowa Planning Council, which overseas the Southwest Iowa Transit Authority, and said one of the biggest actions at the meeting was approval of the purchase of a new bus, due to an accident involving one of the agencies buses.
“SWIPCO was involved in an accident about a month ago, and the bus still has not been released back to the agency. We approved an expenditure of close to $53,000 for a similar, pre-owned bus to be purchased,” commented Robinson.
Also, while some agencies are seeing a decrease in people using buses statewide since COVID-19 affected the state, SWIPCO’s passenger numbers are up.
“Since COVID-19 hit, SWIPCO has given more than 100,000 rides, and they are leading in the state, I believe. SWIPCO and SWITA are doing a tremendous job for the area, and they are a well-oiled machine,” stated Robinson.