Sac County Supervisors receive annual report from New Hope Village

…Future financing shaky.



SAC CITY, IOWA – NOVEMBER 30, 2010

1. New Hope Village has 13 people in Sac County.
- Have had at least one person in Sac County since it started.
New Hope
2. One person lives in an Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded
3 Nine people live in the HTBS
- They have one cottage on campus that is certified for that.
4. Three people are only provided day services.
5. They are remodeling their buildings which are thirty three years old.
6. New Hope has 70 people working in businesses in Carroll, and 145 people working in their shop.
- They have completed work with 28 different businesses.
7. They have purchased the old Pac n Save in Carroll and will turn it into an activity center/thrift store.
- They got a CDBG to pay for part of it which allows them to do some energy efficiency items, (light bulbs, etc)
8. Carroll is experiencing a tight labor market in Carroll, (4%) which makes it hard for new hope to retain employees.
- They reduced 401K match from 3% to 2
- They have frozen wages.
- They have restricted out of county client travel.
9. If the HTBS programs bring in revenue, they have to give it back.
- The county pays about a third of the HTBS fee, but the state will get the excess.
10. Presentation of “gifts” for the supervisors.
11. Rick Hecht “very very” concerned about the financing from the state.
- They seem to be short 20 million dollars.
- This is limiting growth in the face of increased cost.
- Extra money runs out in January 2011.
- Financing may be extended to June 2011 with an extra influx equal to one third the amount of historic spending.
- The county is most vulnerable to liability for making up the money that the state cuts in the realm of mental health.


11. New Hope is undergoing increased scrutiny due to Obamacare.
- Have to spend new money to implement electronic documentation.
-- New Hope doesn’t know what to do with the mounds of paper they are accumulating.
-- They have nearly two full time people scanning documents so that they don’t have to go out and build a new building just to store it.
-- Wishes they didn’t have to spend all of the money on physical paper, which the state says they have to store until 5 years after discharge of a client.
--- Think 30 year client.
13. Rick Hecht is on the last year of his term on the mental health commission.
14. Client numbers are about the same as they were 5 years ago.
- There are some clients on a waiting list, but due to the economy, they don’t have enough money to hire more staff to serve them.

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