The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved money from the Oregon Health Authority for residential mental health, addiction and problem gambling treatment.
Commissioners added $156,000 to an existing agreement with the state agency, bringing the total contract to $12.1 million.
The additional funding reimburses residential treatment homes or adult foster homes for costs of caring for people who don’t qualify for the Oregon Health Plan.
The board also unanimously approved new agreements with ten ambulance service providers to continue serving their areas of Marion County. The county designates service areas for such providers under a franchise agreement.
They also unanimously approved adding about $29.16 million to the county budget, which now totals about $580.66 million. Several county departments requested larger budgets due to unforeseen circumstances, including new Public Works Department workers and grants, facility renovation and capital improvement projects.
Commissioners unanimously approved or advanced other agenda items, including a contract with a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, transferring a segment of Parr Road from Marion County’s jurisdiction to Woodburn city limits and distributing revenue from local timber sales to Marion County.
Original story below:
The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday will consider accepting funding from the Oregon Health Authority for residential mental health, addiction and problem gambling treatment.
READ IT: AGENDA
Commissioners will consider adding $156,000 to an existing agreement with the state agency, which would bring the total contract to $12.1 million.
The additional funding would reimburse residential treatment homes or adult foster homes for costs of caring for people who don’t qualify for the Oregon Health Plan.
Marion County receives an initial pool of money for such services from the state. When that runs out, the county is awarded more funding on a case-by-case basis, according to Ryan Matthews, administrator of the county’s Health and Human Services Department.
The proposals for new funding, which would come from the federal government, are divided into two parts but would pay for the same services, Matthews said in an email.
To participate
The commissioners meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Senator Hearing Room at 555 Court Street N.E. Anyone can attend or sign up to give public comment in-person at the meeting. The meeting is streamed live on YouTube.
Ambulance service
Commissioners will consider approving new agreements with ten ambulance service providers to continue serving their areas of Marion County.
The county designates service areas for such providers under a franchise agreement and renewed applications in September.
Budget changes
There will also be a public hearing Wednesday to consider adopting the first supplemental budget for fiscal year 2023-24.
Commissioners would then vote on the supplemental budget, which would add about $29.16 million to the county’s existing budget.
The proposal comes after several county departments requested larger budgets due to unforeseen circumstances, including new Public Works Department workers and grants, facility renovation and capital improvement projects, according to the agenda item.
The new budget would total about $580.66 million.
Stormwater management
Commissioners will have a first reading on a county ordinance to reduce the muddiness of stormwater and mercury contamination in the public stormwater drainage.
The proposed changes are intended to meet updated requirements of the state Department of Environmental Quality for the Willamette Basin.
The ordinance would ban people from discharging muddy water into the public stormwater drainage. It would also require property owners to maintain any waterways that pass through their land to protect against erosion and degradation.
Also on the agenda
Commissioners will consider a $300,000 contract with Lori Linton-Nelson, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, that would span through 2025. Linton-Nelson would treat people receiving mental health services at the county’s Health and Human Services Department.
The board will also consider transferring a segment of Parr Road from Marion County’s jurisdiction to Woodburn city limits.
They will also consider distributing $122,000 in revenue from local timber sales to Marion County.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
