During Tuesday morning’s meeting, the Denton County Commissioners Court approved a $416 million budget and the county’s lowest property tax rate since 1986.
Commissioners’ approval of the budget this week took longer than expected as they were trying to settle an issue with Denton County MHMR Center funds.
Executive Director Pam Gutierrez asked the commissioners at the last minute about funding the crisis residential unit and the substance use disorder program at the facility due to the programs’ potential closure.
The crisis residential unit provides a home to clients for two weeks who are experiencing mental health crises. The substance use disorder program is a step-by-step program intended to assist individuals seeking substance abuse help.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Ryan Williams criticized Gutierrez for asking for funds at the last minute.
“When we met with each of you, we had discussed that the crisis residential unit and our substance use programs were operating at a loss,” Gutierrez said. “I apologize that I didn’t use the words that the crisis residential unit was at risk of being closed, and so I apologize for that.”
Gutierrez told the commissioners that it’s hard to maintain the program because of staffing and retention issues the agency has faced.
She told the board the agency was operating at a loss and that the MHMR board voted to have only four beds in the crisis residential unit and to reduce staff numbers to ensure they could operate those effectively.
“The only way to keep the program open right now is to lower the census and, obviously, lower the staffing because that’s the primary cost,” Gutierrez said.
Commissioners asked if more beds would be added if more funding was provided during Tuesday’s meeting, but Gutierrez said it’s not guaranteed they could add more beds.
As reported by the Denton Record-Chronicle, the agency has faced allegations of a toxic work environment that the MHMR Board of Directors declined to investigate and massive turnover under Gutierrez’s leadership.
Since the allegations, several changes have been made at MHMR, such as restructuring the leadership team and improving pay. However, several former employees demanded a complete investigation after their allegations were not fully investigated.
As reported, Williams told the Record-Chronicle he had known about the issues since May 2022 and that county leaders had been working to improve the services MHMR provided.
Commissioners approved $1 million in contingency funds, with $600,000 for the crisis residential unit and $400,000 for the substance use disorder program.
On Tuesday, Williams said Gutierrez and the agency would need to better communicate with the commissioners and discuss more potential funding.
“I have a hard time not giving the money because I want to take care of the the critical needs of our citizens, but I don’t like to reward behavior that’s not being properly run,” Williams said.
Denton County spokesperson Dawn Cobb, via email Thursday, said Williams had no further comment at the time.
Budget
The $416 million budget includes 27.66% for public safety, 15.32% for general administration, 10% for judicial services and 2.6% for health and welfare.
The property tax rate will be 18.7869 cents per $100 property valuation, a reduction from the current rate of 18.9485 cents and the lowest rate since 1986.