Council revisits restoring $200,000 to Community Corrections after it was pulled from the budget by mistake

What happened

Community Corrections Director Bill Watson followed up on a prior meeting about putting $200,000 back into the fund covering substance-abuse and mental-health treatment at Community Corrections, after the council learned the money had been removed from the budget without anyone realizing it. Councillor David Thompson (probable identification) pressed Watson on whether the agency would need more than that by year's end given a known drop in state revenue for the program, and urged Watson's team to find ways to slow the loss of funding rather than face the same shortfall again next year. Phoenix House Executive Director Deanna Griffin spoke during public comment in support of restoring the funding, describing Community Corrections as a key link between jail, treatment, and recovery housing for people in the justice system.

The outcome

Presented to the council for consideration; no vote was taken at this meeting.

Sources

• $200,000 restoration requested, background
• Councillor presses on future shortfalls
• Councillor's closing concern about the funding system
• Public comment supporting restoration

Also known as: Community Corrections funding · $200,000 restored · substance abuse mental health treatment fund · Phoenix House · work release funding