Commissioners nix proposed tax hike for crisis center

By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer

A proposal to pay for a consolidated crisis response center by raising sales taxes in Benton and Franklin counties by one-tenth of a cent was rejected Tuesday by the majority of the commissioners.

The proposal was made by Benton County Commissioner Jim Beaver and Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck during a joint meeting. Beaver and Peck had been looking since March at ways to fund a consolidated crisis response center.

To offset the pinch of the tax increase, Beaver and Peck proposed asking voters Nov. 3 to decrease Ben Franklin Transit's sales tax collection by one-tenth of a cent.

More than 80 percent of the transit district's revenue comes from a six-tenths-of-a-cent sales tax, which generated about $27 million last year.

The proposal to increase the sales tax, which could be approved by the county commissions instead of by the voters, would generate about $4 million to lease a building to house a consolidated crisis response center and toward the center's operation.

The facility would house mental health and chemical dependency professionals, beds for detox and mental health crisis, medical staff, case managers and a crisis hotline. These services are currently scattered throughout Benton and Franklin counties and are primarily funded by state and federal dollars.

Peck said during the meeting that the counties need to find a "reliable, long-term funding stream" for the consolidated crisis response center instead of relying on state and federal money, which has recently been cut in the wake of the national recession.

The other four commissioners were cool to the sales tax idea.

"In my 70 years, I don't remember the last time robbing Peter to pay Paul worked," Benton County Commissioner Leo Bowman said during the meeting, which drew an audience of several dozen that flowed out of the commission chambers into the Franklin County courthouse rotunda. "I will not assess new taxes for anybody, for any reason."

However, Bowman added that if residents from both counties supported Peck and Beaver's plan, he may change his stance.

Franklin County Commissioner Bob Koch said the idea of enacting a tenth-of-a-cent sales tax to fund the center "scared" him, but he said he wouldn't mind allowing the public to vote on the issue.

The commissioners did not vote on the idea, but Benton Commissioner Max Benitz and Franklin Commissioner Rick Miller also said they didn't support a tax increase.

Local businessman Carl Cadwell has offered to build a 16,160-square-foot facility for about $3.1 million, which he would then lease to the counties.

Cadwell was excluded from meetings among Beaver, Peck and Benton-Franklin Department of Human Services officials because, Peck said Tuesday, Cadwell's involvement in earlier meetings about the center may have been seen as a conflict of interest.

Cadwell said he still hopes to meet with county officials to figure out another way to make the consolidated crisis response center a reality. Peck and Beaver said they'd now like to meet with Cadwell.

During Tuesday's meeting, Cadwell said the commissioners should begin looking within their budgets for money that can be redirected toward the center. He said the counties now pay about $154,000 annually in rent to house services that could be in a consolidated center. The facility he proposes to build would cost about $231,000 to rent annually.

"We're really looking at $80,000, folks, not $4 million," he said.

"I think we can go through that budget and see how we can do this," Cadwell added later.

-- Drew Foster: 585-7207; dfoster@tricityherald.com

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Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009

Commissioners nix proposed tax hike for crisis center

By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer