Geneva council wants to leave its mental health funding alone

The Geneva City Council on Monday decided to leave well enough alone as to how a property tax collected for mental health and developmental disabilities services is handled.

No formal vote was taken because no resolution was proposed. Mayor Kevin Burns brought up the topic for a policy discussion by the committee of the whole, based in part on comments he received from Geneva residents, he said.

Geneva residents voted to establish a mental health board in 1989, and the city began collecting a tax to support its work. Under state law, the board can spend the money to help people with mental illness, developmental disabilities or addictions.

The board had a 2011-12 budget of $153,295, with almost all of it coming from property taxes. It gave about $139,000 to 14 agencies, including Suicide Prevention Services, TriCity Family Services and the Renz Addiction Center. The rest is set aside for possible purchase of a group home. The board bought its first group home in 2008 that is run by the Association for Individual Development.

Burns said Monday that people have asked him whether Geneva residents truly benefit from the organizations, many of which operate throughout Kane County; told him the organizations’ services overlap; and suggested the grants received are so small, they aren’t worth applying for. People have also told him they don’t think the services are central, critical core services of a municipality, he said.

Burns suggested the city hold a nonbinding referendum to find out if residents still want to keep the tax and the board.

Former alderman Jim Radecki told the council that handing out small grants locally was an inefficient way to provide the services, suggesting a countywide or statewide board could distribute money more equitably. He also questioned whether the city should be giving money to nonprofit groups at all, as the state contracts with some of the groups, such as aid, to provide services.

But several alderman disagreed with him, saying they thought local control was better because they could see where the money was spent and ensure it is being spent on Geneva residents.

“I wouldn’t want to send it (control) to the county, and I sure wouldn’t want to send it to the state,” said Alderman Dawn Vogelsberg, citing the state’s poor record with reimbursing service providers.

Alderman Sam Hill was blunt: If the tax dollars were instead sent to the state government, “too great a percentage would go to the crooks that have dominated our state politics over the last 30 to 40 years,” he said.

The Geneva board requires grant applicants to show how many of their clients live in Geneva. AID Chairman Chuck Miles told the council that it has 68 Geneva residents on a waiting list for services, including 12 not eligible for any state support. The only ways off the waiting list and into one of its group homes is through a lottery or if the person’s primary caregiver dies, he said. Last year, 14 people moved off the list.

The seven-member, all-volunteer mental health board has two vacancies. Members are appointed by the mayor.

Alderman Ralph Dantino, who sits on the board, defended the expense.

“If we prevent one suicide this year, it’s worth all the money we can give,” he said.