DES MOINES – Mental illness has become a scourge of society, and the Iowa legislature is pondering a bill that would give county supervisors the power to raise funding to address the issue.
The Senate Ways & Means Committee unanimously passed a bill giving county supervisors the ability to raise the mental health levy in their county.
Senator Pam Jochum reports that SF 2236 establishes a statewide standard property tax levy for mental health and disability services based on the per capita expenditure target ($47.28) times the county’s general population. In 2013, the Legislature established mental health regions, which have saved the state $35 million in property taxes statewide, and 73 counties have been able to reduce property taxes by sharing responsibility for these services. However, for some counties the current rate does not allow the county to adequately provide services.
For eight Iowa counties with frozen levy caps – Butler, Tama, Scott, Dallas, Benton, Johnson, Polk and Plymouth—the bill would allow major deficits in mental health regions to be filled. Without the statewide standardized rate of $47.28 per capita, services that keep those with mental health needs and disabilities living and working in the community would be at risk. These services include assistance keeping a job, rent subsidies and transportation to medical appointments, to name a few.
For other regions, it would allow the counties to more equally distribute the costs for the region based on the percent of the population they serve. The legislation provides flexibility to counties to more equitably distribute dollars through the mental health region. The redesign and formation of regions has been successful, and this legislation is the final piece that will bring stability to the system and bring equity to the counties in the region.
The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled House for consideration.
