Despite objections, Metro Council approves giving Bridge Center contract for mental health center
The AdvocateMar 14, 2019
The decision was made after opposition from residents who had expressed doubts about the nonprofit agency, which some said isn't qualified to oversee the day-to-day operation of the facility and isn't being transparent enough about how they intend to use revenue from the dedicated property tax voters approved to support the center.
"If you go to Bridge Center website, they don't even have business plan. I'm concerned about that,"
"You guys have done a poor job of convincing the community the Bridge Center is the ambassador to carry this,"
But, the council voted 7-2 to move forward with the contract.
Council members
Councilwomen
"Overwhelmingly, people supported the tax but they don't want it to go to the Bridge Center," Banks said. "How can y'all ignore that?"
The 1.5-mill mental health property tax, which voters approved in December, was championed by the Bridge Center, a nonprofit set up by the
The facility, set to open in early 2020, will serve as an alternative to an emergency room or
Debate over the pending contract, called a cooperative endeavor agreement, and the Bridge Center's involvement has stretched on for months. Some people have argued the city-parish should allocate the revenue from the mental health tax to an existing government agency like Capital Area Human Services, which they said has a narrower focus and is better suited to manage a mental health facility.
Those sentiments were echoed Wednesday night, including criticism from residents who claimed that during the runup to the tax election, they never heard that the Bridge Center would operate the crisis center.
According to the proposed 10-year agreement, the Bridge Center anticipates contracting with one or more licensed service providers.
The scope of services include a mobile assessment team that can respond to law enforcement 24/7 to provide in-person evaluations, a crisis assessment center to treat patients on a voluntary or involuntary basis, sobering beds, a detox program and care management team that can provide direct services within the community.
The city-parish is preparing the facility's budget the initial year, but the Bridge Center is required to prepare and submit an annual budget every year after that.
The Bridge Center is also responsible for any additional expenditures that exceed the annual allotment of tax revenue, pinned around
Even council members who voted "yes" had questioned
"The accountability is there," council member
Councilwoman
"I don't think we can lose the momentum and restart this process all over again," she said.
Councilman
"The things you're telling me and the (agreement) I'm getting this late today, I just don't agree with," Wilson told Kliebert. "If this was another agency, we would just be losing it. We're 90 days from an election and we're not much more organized than we were before it."
In response, Kliebert explained that having the agreement in place would allow the Bridge Center board to gather proposals from providers which will help them fine tune the scope of services for the facility and adequately outline their budget.
"It will be a transparent, public process," BRAF executive director
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