Tag Archives: Harold Mast

Responding to funding shortfall, Kent County’s mental health provider begins cuts, service reviews

The Kent County Family and Children’s Coordinating Council heard a presentation by Scott Gilman, executive director of Network180, on Jan. 2. (Supplied by Kent County)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Kent County’s community mental health provider, Network180, has already made internal staffing reductions and will likely cut funding from several community-service groups and projects after a now-started period of review and decision-making.

 

Combined, Network180 and a spectrum of independent groups provide support to persons with developmental disabilities, mental and behavioral health problems including addiction and substance use, and the family members who access services for those needing mental health assistance.

 

The bad news for Network180 employees, with more than 30 full-time equivalent positions cut — and the potential of more bad news of other providers — was detailed during a presentation Jan. 2 at the Kent County Family and Children’s Coordinating Council by Scott Gilman, executive director of Network180.

 

The basic cause of the funding shortfalls, according to Gilman, is the difference in state funding between two Medicaid programs: the older, established Disabled, Aged and Blind (DAB) program and Michigan’s newer Healthy Michigan. Healthy Michigan provides $24 per person versus the $270 received from DAB. That leads to a $9.7 million shortfall for Network180.

 

The scheduled and potential cuts will also be part of the agenda at a meeting of Network180’s Board of Directors, which is chaired by County Commissioner Harold Mast, whose district includes portions of both Wyoming and Kentwood.

 

Kent County Commissioner Harold Mast, right, at a recent Wyoming-Kentwood area Chamber of Commerce Government Matters meeting. (WKTV)

“We are going to be facing with roughly $11 million deficit for this fiscal year, which started in October, or we are going to start running out of cash in May and June,” Mast said Monday to the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce’s Government Matters meeting. “It is a complicated issue, (state) Sen. (Peter) MacGregor and, I know, (state) Sen. (Dave) Hildenbrand and a lot of other government officials, are trying to figure out what we can do to help it. But we are at a stage where we can’t continue to operate the way we are.

 

“It is not just our county, it is the seven counties in West Michigan, the Lakeshore Regional Entity. It is throughout the state,” Mast said Monday. “It is an issue of funding, the way the funding is given from the department of (Michigan Department of) Health and Human Services (MDHSS) for Medicaid eligible individuals. That has changed dramatically in the past year, and it just needs to get fixed. But in the meantime, we are running out of cash, so we are going to start cutting back some services.”

 

The Lakeshore Regional Entity manages a contact with MDHHS to provide services to Kent, Allegan, Lake, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, and Ottawa counties.

 

“It is difficult for us because at the same time we are in a cost-cutting mode, we are also in a reinvention mode,” Mast said. “We really need to move forward … with an integration of physical and mental health, because that is what we need to perform better mental health services.”

 

And while funding for Network180, and groups and programs it funds, flow through the Kent County Commission, Mast admitted that, while there will be discussions on the situation, there is likely little the county can do to blunt the likely service cutbacks.

 

Mast said that likely only the state can solve the problem.

 

“Over the course of the last couple of months, as we saw it coming … we were confident until probably October, that the state was going to rectify what we thought was an easily solved issue,” Mast said to WKTV at the Jan. 2 meeting.

 

But “they have not recognized the discrepancy in the reimbursement rate. First of all they have resisted any acceptance of our study … they said even with that, you still have enough money. You should have enough money in your reserves. Well, we don’t … So we are at the cusp of a worse problem. All of a sudden its has come to a head, we have got to take some action, because we (Network 180) are going to run out of money … we are not going to be able to pay our bills.”

 

An independent study — funded by Lakeshore Regional Entity and eight of the state’s other nine Prepaid Inpatient Health Plans (PIHPs) — by the Grand Rapids based Rehmann Group estimated a $97 million state-wide revenue shortfall, and a $7.8 million loss for the Lakeshore Regional Entity.

 

And, Mast says, there is likely nothing the county commission can do to rescue Network180, and the Lakeshore Regional Entity it is a member of.

 

“We (the county commission) have not had that discussion, that would be a difficult discussion, I think, whether the county would be willing to ante up,” Mast said. “I our case, it would be $10 or $11 million. We would have to have some pretty good guarantees because that is local tax money. We have not had that discussion.”

 

The County Commission has not had any discussions on this issue, according to a Jan. 9 statement from the county. “There are still a number of regulatory issues that would need to be addressed (i.e. we may not be able to use County funds to supplant Medicaid funding). We continue to work with the State to find a resolution.”

 

There is some discussion, Mast added, that the Lakeshore Regional Entity might be able to get a commercial loan of some sort in the short term with the promise of state funding flowing in and paying the loans back. “But there is not guarantee of that,” he added.

 

For a more detailed discussion on the topic, see additional story here.

 

With passage of 911 surcharge, county gets ready to build new dispatch system

Undersheriff Michele LaJoy-Young as he discusses the 9-1-1 dispatch surcharge. Photo now.wktv.org.
Undersheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young as she discusses the 9-1-1 dispatch surcharge. Photo now.wktv.org.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.now.org

 

Now that voters have overwhelmingly approved the surcharge increase for the 9-1-1 Public Safety Dispatch, supporters and the Kent County Sheriff Department really have their work cut out for them.

 

“It’s a big project with a lot of work,” said Undersheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young.

 

Last night, Kent County voters approved the 70-cent increase to the current Kent County surcharge of 45 cents in a three-to-one margin with 205,112 in favor to 74,726 opposed. The 70-cent increase is on top of the existing 45-cent surcharge and is for 20 years. Starting in July 2017, a phone user will pay $1.15 surcharge to Kent County or about $13.80 per year with $8.40 per year going toward the 9-1-1 dispatch.

 

About half the money raised will go toward the public safety dispatch and a portion will be used to cover costs associated with countywide fire dispatch services.

 

In preparation of the surcharge possibly passing, LaJoye-Young said the county has been working on a contract with plans to join the Michigan Public Safety Communications System.

 

Kent County Sheriff Larry Stelma
Kent County Sheriff Larry Stelma

“This is more than a quick fix. This is an investment in our future, in the safety of our first responders, and the ability to respond quickly and efficiently to residents who call 9-1-1,” Kent County Sheriff Larry Stelma said. “We can now provide communications towers and new radio equipment that will place all Kent County dispatchers and first responders on the Michigan Public Safety Communications System. This will improve our ability to communicate with most of the state’s 9-1-1 call-taking centers, including Michigan State Police, and Ottawa, Allegan, Ionia and Newaygo counties.”

 

The goal is to have the contract in place by the end of year, LaJoye-Young said, adding the next phase is the project management, which has a two-year window. This is where the real work begins as the county will need to change its frequency, requiring the purchase of communications towers and 800 MHz equipment. There will be some build-out for the power which will include reconstruction and construction of towers depending on whether those towers can hold the new equipment, LaJoye-Young said, adding that it is estimated the entire dispatch project should be completed in three years.

 

Besides the increase in the surcharge, residents probably will not feel much of an impact on police/fire services or even phone service.

 

“If they happen to live near a tower, they might see the outward signs of construction but that will be pretty low impact,” LaJoye-Young said. “Ideally, this will be seamless with residents experiencing no drop in service. They won’t realize a change but just the continuity of communication and improved communication for public safety that should increase our efficiency.”

 

Currently Kent County 9-1-1 dispatch operates on eight different radio systems, which hampers public safety efforts in some situations because emergency responders cannot communicate directly – even if they are working on the same incident. With the new technology, LaJoye-Young said officers involved in a specific situation, such as a traffic accident, or an event like Metro Cruise, will have direct communication abilities while regular calls are maintained on dedicated channels.

 

“I am delighted to see voters approve the dispatch,” said 12th District Kent County Commissioner Harold Mast, who represents the western portion Kentwood and the eastern portion of Wyoming. “This will definitely help in improving the way law enforcement communicates.”

 

“Voters in Wyoming and throughout Kent County overwhelmingly demonstrated their supported of the 911 dispatch public safety surcharge,” said Curtis Holt, director of the Kent County Dispatch Authority and Wyoming City Manager. “The increased surcharge will enhance public safety with an upgrade in technology, provide a sustainable countywide fire dispatch funding source and improve communication efficiency to make Wyoming and all of Kent County safer.”

 

The surcharge is a “user-based” fee directly charging devices that use 9-1-1 service. For every phone device a Kent County resident has — cell phone, air card, home internet with voice IP — the surcharge will be applied. LaJoye-Young recommends that residents look at their phone bill for the current Kent County surcharge of 45 cents to determine what their individual cost will be.

Second candidate forum focuses on candidates for Kentwood

ballotThe Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce and the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood host the second candidate forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, at the KDL Kentwood Branch, 4950 Breton SE.

 

The forum is designed to allow residents to get to know the candidates who want to represent them. The forum is free to the public.

 

The event starts at 7:10 p.m. with the 12th District Kent County Commission candidates. The 12 District area covers part of the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming. The seat is currently held by Republican incumbent Harold Mast who is being challenged by Democrat Christian Allen. Both candidates are planning to be at Thursday’s forum.

 

At 7:50 p.m. will be the 13th Kent County Commission candidates. The 13th District area covers most of the eastern and northern portion of the City of Kentwood. Newcomers Democrat Betsy Melton and Republican Jessica Ann Tyson are seeking the seat being vacated by Richard Vander Molen. Both Melton and Tyson are planning to be at Thursday’s forum.

 

For more coverage on the candidates, make sure to check out WKTV’s We the People coverage.