The Nevada County Behavioral Health Department is expected to present its three-year integrated financial plan to the public and the board of supervisors for consideration during their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 2 beginning at 9 a.m. in the chambers of the Rood Center located at 950 Maidu Avenue, Nevada City.
The three-year plan, required by the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), outlines how counties will utilize various behavioral health funding sources.
The plan to be presented and considered by the board for approval is a road map to how money from BHSA will be used to address unmet needs; however, BHSA is not the only funding source for the department.
Federal grants, Medi-Cal, opioid settlements, local funding and other funding will also be projected in the three-year plan.
An annual progress report for fiscal year 2024/25 will also be presented, and if approved by the board, the progress report and the three-year plan will be submitted to the Department of Health Care Services by the mandated deadline of June 30, 2026.
The new three-year plan also includes an overview of overall county behavioral health expenditures across the continuum of care and across all funding sources, not just the $27,502,891 from BHSA funding.
BHSA funds may only be used to establish or expand services for plan components approved under the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA).
MHSA was originally adopted by the California voters as Proposition 63 in November 2004, imposing a 1 percent income tax on California residents with an income of more than $1 million per year to fund various county mental health services.
In March 2024, California voters passed Proposition 1, which modernized the MHSA into the BHSA.
The $27,502,891 from BHSA funds services such as treatment for people with substance use disorders, prioritizes care for individuals with the most serious mental illnesses, and housing interventions.
The county’s continuum of care has another $9.8 million to be spent on substance use disorder services including prevention, outpatient services, crisis services, and residential treatment.
Another $48.6 million is budgeted for mental health services such as outpatient, crisis, residential, hospital and acute services.
Homeless outreach, recovery, shelter/interim housing/hotels/motels, and permanent housing services is budgeted at $11.3 million.
These combined funding sources come at a total cost to the California taxpayer of $65,587,717 for three-years.
The proposed plan does not require any county match or county general fund dollars and is planned for within the department’s existing budget.
County’s annual 2024/25 audit and progress report
During Tuesday’s meeting, the board of supervisors are expected to consider approving the required countywide independent audits for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025.
The audit was performed by LSL, a certified public accounting firm.
These audits were conducted and include several reports: County of Nevada Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, County of Nevada Single Audit Report, Nevada County Finance Authority, and the Nevada Sanitation District No.
The Audit Review Committee, composed of two members of the board of supervisors, Chief Fiscal Officer Erin Mettler, members of the Grand Jury, and Auditor-Controller Gina Will, met with LSL on May 11, 2026 to review the reports, comments, and recommendations.
Nevada County Finance Authority, a component unit of the County of Nevada stated, “In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects … in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted.”
Key takeaways expected to be discussed during the presentation are as follows:
County’s Net position is $393,108,266 an increase of 6.39 percent or $23,624,448 from prior year.County’s total assets increased $36,401,807 or 5.6 percent primarily due to increases in accounts receivable and increased intergovernmental funding related to health and human services programs.As of June 30, 2025, the county’s governmental funds reported condensed ending fund balances in the amount of $171,985,514, an increase of $9,617,508 or 5.9 percent.
The audit reports can be found on Nevada County’s Transparency Portal.
Recognitions and proclamations
During the morning portion of Tuesday’s meeting, the board will recognize several people and events.
A certificate of recognition for David Comstock who died in 2025 is expected to be presented by the board.
Comstock was a longtime member of both the Nevada County Historical Society and the Nevada County Historical Landmarks Commission. In addition, he was an accomplished artist who created over 200 watercolors and illustrations, including many regional scenes. He also designed a Gold Rush postage stamp, which is now displayed in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.
Other proclamations for the month of June will be announced: “Nevada County Pride Month” and “Celebration of Trails Month.”
In the afternoon, scheduled for around 1:30 p.m., a presentation from the 2025/2026 Nevada County Youth Commission is expected.
Recommendations to the board from subcommittees regarding digital equity, youth-centered affordable housing planning, a Health Supply Box pilot program to improve youth access to essential health resources, and the development of a centralized online Youth Employment Hub within the Nevada County Youth Commission webpage infrastructure.
The board will also acknowledge outgoing 2025/26 Nevada County Youth Commissioners.
To contact Staff Writer Marianne Boll-See, email mboll-see@theunion.com.