SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — On Wednesday, the board formed in the wake of the deadly shooting of Sonya Massey held its first meeting. This follows months of deliberation by Sangamon County and the Massey Commission. Currently, the Sangamon County Mental Health Board is made up of seven members.
The goal of the board to identify issues and allocate resources to help combat gaps in mental health services and beyond. Wednesday’s meeting focused on establishing roles and rules for the board and even meeting each other for the first time.
Steve Nardulli addressed the crowd, saying, “You may have noticed at the beginning of this meeting, there was a lot of shaking hands, because they were meeting each other for the very first time.”
Six of the new board members introduced themselves, while the seventh was missing due to a prior commitment. David Racine was also sitting with the board, as he waits for approval from the Sangamon County Board to approve two more members to the Mental Health Board.
Nardulli spoke highly of both Racine and Michael Gaines, saying, “I have met both David [Racine] and Michael [Gaines], talked with them at some length, and believe we would be well served by having them on the board. And accordingly, I will entertain a motion to increase the size of the Sangamon County Mental Health Board from seven members to nine.”
The motion passed unanimously and now needs to be approved by the Sangamon County Board.
Roles on the mental health board were also decided Wednesday. Steve Nardulli was selected as chairman, Jennifer Douglas was picked to be the secretary, and Brian Wojcicki will serve as the vice-chairman. A treasurer will be named later.
Discussion was held regarding the importance of their duties, namely the use of taxpayer money.
Nardulli said, “If we don’t administer our funds carefully, we won’t be using them effectively. And i know that the projection of $15 million a year is a lot of money. Simultaneously, that is not nearly enough money to address all of the things that I’m sure are going to have to be addressed by this board.”
Before adjourning their first meeting, the group agreed to work on various tasks, like discussing an agreement with Sangamon County to use its administrative services, possibly joining an association of mental health boards, and learning more about the needs of the community.
Sangamon County has agreed to provide seed money for the board, as the tax revenue likely will not come in until October, about three months after the sales tax increase goes into effect.
The board plans to meet on the fourth Wednesday of the month. They will meet next on June 24th at 3 PM.