Legislature(2021 - 2022)SENATE FINANCE 532
01/27/2022 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
January 27, 2022
9:01 a.m.
9:01:41 AM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Stedman called the Senate Finance Committee
meeting to order at 9:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Click Bishop, Co-Chair
Senator Bert Stedman, Co-Chair
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Donny Olson
Senator Natasha von Imhof
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator David Wilson
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Anita Halterman, Board Chair, Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority; Steve Williams, CEO, Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority
SUMMARY
PRESENTATION: ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH TRUST AUTHORITY
^PRESENTATION: ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH TRUST AUTHORITY
9:03:10 AM
ANITA HALTERMAN, BOARD CHAIR, ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH TRUST
AUTHORITY (via teleconference), relayed that she was the
new board chair of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
(AMHTA). She listed the names of the trustees. She cited
that in FY 21 the trust provided more than $21.3 million in
grants to partners that helped improve the lives of trust
beneficiaries across the state. She acknowledged and
thanked all the partners who played a part in the formation
of the agency.
Ms. Halterman continued her opening remarks. She asserted
that the trust worked to provide funding and support for
programs that improved the lives of beneficiaries. She
noted that the standing trust focus areas and priorities
included maximizing the systems that served beneficiaries.
She noted that the trust supported its work through
financial management, and strategic management of trust
land assets. She acknowledged her fellow trustees and the
trust staff for ongoing efforts in managing assets to
support beneficiaries. She sheared the various successes
made by the trust in the last year.
9:07:02 AM
She publicly thanked partners of the trust. She thought it
was likely that every Alaskan had experience behavioral
health challenges and was grateful to serve on the board.
9:08:01 AM
Ms. Halterman introduced the new CEO of the trust and
provided a brief background.
9:08:41 AM
Steve Williams, CEO, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority,
discussed the presentation "Alaska Mental Health Trust
Authority - Senate Finance Committee - January 27, 2022"
(copy on file).
Mr. Williams spoke to slide 3, "Trust Beneficiaries":
?Beneficiaries include Alaskans who experience:
Mental illnesses
?Intellectual and/or developmental disabilities
?Alzheimer's disease and related dementia
?Traumatic brain injuries
?Substance use disorders
9:09:49 AM
Mr. Williams referenced slide 4, "Legislative Audit":
?Confirmed response to the 2018 audit
?Additional recommendations made in 2021
?Commercial Real Estate
?Policies and Procedures
Mr. Williams shared that the audit had been approved by the
legislature in March of 2020 as a follow up to the audit
performed in 2018. He assured the committee that the
legislative auditor had found that the trust had acted on
the 2018 audit findings and that the trust continued to
operate while upholding state statute and the 1994 trust
settlement agreement. He said that the auditor had provided
additional recommendations, which were the last two bullet
points on the slide, and that had been appreciated and were
being considered by the board.
9:11:51 AM
Senator Wilson thought the 2018 audit was a controversial
due to the issue of properties that had been purchased. He
asked whether the trust still owned the properties and
wanted to know the net revenue from those properties. He
asked whether the properties had been independently
appraised.
Co-Chair Stedman asked whether Senator Wilson's questions
would be answered later in the presentation.
Mr. Williams stated he would address the matter at a later
point in the presentation.
Co-Chair Stedman suggested that Mr. Williams factor in the
responses and include details.
9:13:18 AM
Mr. Williams turned to slide 5, "Financial Position," which
showed a bar graph entitled 'Trust Invested Assets,' with
colored bars denoting the trust corpus, reserves, and real
estate equity. He drew attention to the growth shown on the
far right of the graph, which indicated increased growth
overtime, except for the national economic downturn in
2009-2010. He drew attention to the blue section of the
far-most right bar, which signified the corpus was at $498
million. He added that budget reserves were at $268
million, and the real estate equity was at $66 million; the
total trust invested assets equaled $832 million.
Mr. Williams touched on Senator Wilson's question. He
related that the trust retained 7 commercial real estate
properties: two in Anchorage, one in Washington, one in
Utah, and three in Texas. He shared that the board had
retained an independent real estate advisor who worked with
the asset managers at the Trust Land Office and their
recommendation had been for the properties to be held.
9:15:49 AM
Co-Chair Stedman asked about an agreement with the Alaska
Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) to manage some of the
trust's assets.
Mr. Williams stated that the trustees had considered seven
different recommendations for property management, one of
which was to transfer the management of the properties to
APFC. The final recommendation had been to use an
independent advisor in conjunction with the Trust Land
Office.
Co-Chair Stedman asked whether there had been concern that
the assets were not of sufficient quality to be of interest
to APFC.
Mr. Williams thought that the concern was that the APFC was
not currently structured to manage seven independent
properties.
Co-Chair Stedman suggested that he had received differing
reasons why APFC had not taken over management of the
properties.
9:17:23 AM
Senator Wilson recalled that according to the recent audit,
two of the properties were said to have negative cash
flows. He wondered whether it was the boards current
position to retain all seven properties.
Mr. Williams replied in the affirmative.
Co-Chair Stedman requested the status of each property and
cash flow positions.
Mr. Williams agreed to provide the information.
9:18:11 AM
Mr. Williams considered slide 6, "FY23 Available Funding,"
which showed a table illustrating the trust's available
funding for FY 23, and a table of the trust's historical
available funding from FY 18 to FY 22:
Trusts Estimated Available Funding FY 23
Investment Portfolio Payout (4.25 percent) -
$29,000,000
Prior Year Funds Carried Forward - $2,800,000
Land Office Spendable Income - $4,600,000
Interest Earnings - $600,000
Total - $37,000,000
Trust Available Funding
FY22 $35,456,200
FY21 $33,243,200
FY20 $31,875,600
FY19 $29,437,000
FY18 $28,908,000
Mr. Williams stressed that the FY23 numbers were estimates.
He anticipated the increase from FY22 to FY23 to be at a
half million dollars.
Co-Chair Stedman asked Mr. Williams to remind the committee
of a budgetary issue faced the previous year.
Mr. Williams thought a later slide would touch on the
issue.
9:20:41 AM
Senator Hoffman looked at the Land Office spendable income
on the Available Funding table on the slide. He asked how
the fund determined the amount of spendable income form the
Land Office.
Mr. Williams replied that spendable income was outlined in
statute and regulation.
Senator Hoffman requested a more specific and detailed
answer.
Mr. Williams used the example of the trust's timber
resources, of which 85 percent went to the principal and 15
percent went to spendable income.
Co-Chair Stedman asked Mr. Williams to get back to the
committee with a more detailed response.
9:22:03 AM
Mr. Williams displayed slide 7, "Trust Budget Development
Process":
?Multi-month budget development process
?Trustees approve a budget in late summer
?Approved budget transmitted to Governor and LB&A by
September 15
Comprehensive Stakeholder Engagement
• Advisory Boards
• Beneficiaries
• State, Tribal, community, & Local Partners
o Trust Staff
square4 Review Focus Area/Priority Initiatives
Goals & Work
square4 Comprehensive Mental Health Program
Plan
square4 Grant Analysis
square4 Advocacy Priorities
square4 Review Previous Stakeholder
Recommendations
square4 Budget Recommendations Presented to
Trustees
9:23:06 AM
Mr. Williams highlighted slide 8, "FY 23 Spending," which
showed a pie chart divided into authority grants, agency
budgets for the trust authority and trust land office, and
Mental Health Trust Authority Authorized Receipts (MHTAAR).
He relayed that the slide was a high-level overview that
showed that the spending fell into three buckets:
Authority Grants
$17,634.7
Designated grants to community providers, nonprofits,
local governments, and Tribal organizations.
*Includes $1.85M in mini grants
Agency Budgets
Trust Authority: $4,348.6
Trust Land Office: $4,877.2
Mental Health Trust Authority Authorized Receipts
(MHTAAR)
$8,526.3
Designated grants to state agencies, requires receipt
authority
Mr. Williams cited that the agency budgets supported the
activities for each of the offices to forward this mission
of the trust. The program staff spent a significant amount
of time forwarding initiatives that had been identified by
the board.
Mr. Williams indicated that the green section was MHTAAR
funds, which were trust funds included in the included in
the FY23 budget, approved for different agencies for
specific projects. He continued to the blue section
represented authority grants that trustees approved and
were awarded outside the budget process. The grants were
made to organizations that worked to improve the lives of
beneficiaries.
9:25:52 AM
Mr. Williams looked at slide 9, "FY 23 GF/MH
Recommendations," which showed a table divided into
operating budget items and capital budget items. The
recommendations had been presented to the board and
approved by the board. He detailed that the slide
illustrated the MHTAAR funds that related to mental health
General Fund recommendations. He highlighted the bottom of
the first blue column, which showed $3.7 million in MHTAAR
funding, which was a portion of the total MHTAAR funding
reflected in the budget. He said that the table only
depicted MHTAAR that was connected to General Fund
recommendations; all other MHTAAR increments were trust
funded programs and services within the state budget solely
funded by the trust.
Mr. Williams noted that many of the general fund (GF)
increments were important to improving the system of care.
He spoke to the columns on the righthand side of the slide,
which showed the governors proposed FY23 budget. He noted
that the governor had included all the trustee approved
General Fund recommendations. He added that there we there
were two slight reductions related to Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation (AHFC) receipts. He highlighted that
the reductions were in Special Needs Housing Grants and
Housing Assistance. He did not anticipate the reductions
having any significant impact on the programs or recipients
in FY23.
Mr. Williams noted that previously when the trust had
presented the table to the committee, there had been a
column entitled "trust reserves," which had included a set
of uses of trust reserves that had not been communicated
to, or approved by, the board. He thought the change was
due to improved communication with the administration about
the priorities of the trust. He said that OMB and the
governor had offered priorities theyd hoped the board
would consider. He used the example of the last capital
budget item on the list, AHFC Senior Housing
Predevelopment, as something the administration had
presented to the board, which the board had included in
their recommendations.
9:29:32 AM
Co-Chair Stedman wanted Mr. Williams to clarify the
transfer protocol to a portion of the trust. He recalled an
issue the previous year. He asked when the trust discussed
transferring assets.
Mr. Williams relayed that the trust transferred its
revenues into the corpus of the trust, generally on a
quarterly basis, depending upon amount of funds generated.
The transfer was coordinated with APFC to ensure a
predicative, substantial, timely transfer.
Co-Chair Stedman asked whether there had been a policy
change from previous years.
Mr. Williams stated that there had not been a policy
change.
Co-Chair Stedman asked for more clarity. He recalled there
had been concern about having an orderly process in
previous years and inaction by the trustees to authorize
the transfer to build up liquidity. He understood that
there had been a difference of opinion between the trust
and the board as to whether the money should be spent.
Mr. Williams offered to follow up in writing with further
clarification.
Co-Chair Stedman asked that the information include the
current board policy. He said that there had been committee
concern that the transfers had not been taking place in a
standardized timeframe for review and had encouraged the
board to modify the policy to improve the process.
9:32:45 AM
Senator von Imhof recalled that the previous year there had
been conversation about funding for the Alaska Psychiatric
Institute (API). She recalled conflict pertaining to the
appropriate vehicle for API funding; the governor had
wanted to used funds from the trust and the board
disagreed. She had asked the presenter from the trust why
the trust did not fund API. She was curious about the
board's rationale for funding or not funding API.
Mr. Williams relayed that the trust supported API in a
variety of ways and had done so historically. He mentioned
challenges with a disability lawsuit against API. He
believed in FY23 budget there was at least one sizable
increment related to API of approximately $360,000. He
offered to get back to the committee in writing.
Senator von Imhof thought the governor had previously
requested between $6 million and $9 million. She noted that
monies continued to increase (as shown on slide 6) and
stated that she was aware there was no shortage of
priorities. She hoped for a more robust conversation about
the role of the trust on API.
9:35:47 AM
Senator Wielechowski asked whether there were any
recommendations for additional services for homelessness.
Mr. Williams stated that the trust's work on homelessness
was partially reflected in the Special Needs Housing Grants
and Housing Assistance Program in partnership with AHFC. He
said that there were other trust-funded efforts that
addressed homelessness. He noted that much of the funding
would be outside the state budget process and directly to
organizations providing programs to the homeless community.
Senator Wielechowski wanted to see more detail on trust
funding to address homelessness. He asked about the Housing
Assistance Program.
Co-Chair Stedman requested that Mr. Williams add the
information to his already requested written response on
other issues.
Mr. Williams agreed to provide the information.
9:37:09 AM
Mr. Williams addressed slide 10, "Work of the Trust":
Established Focus Areas
?Disability Justice
?Mental Health & Addiction Intervention
?Beneficiary Employment & Engagement
?Housing and Home & Community Based Services
Additional Priorities
?Workforce Development
?Early Childhood Intervention & Prevention
9:38:31 AM
Co-Chair Bishop congratulated Mr. Williams on his new
position. He looked back at slide 9 and noted there was
about $850,000 going to the University. He asked whether
the funding was going towards workforce development.
Mr. Williams affirmed that the funding was directed toward
the Center for Human Development to provide ongoing
training and skill development of direct service
professionals and more professional and clinical staff.
9:39:29 AM
Senator Hoffman looked at the housing and home and
community-based services listed as an established focus
area. He asked for a list of the targeted areas so he could
assess the list for equity.
Co-Chair Stedman asked Mr. Williams to provide the list.
Co-Chair Stedman commented that the committee would be
spending some time on the topic of work force development.
He referenced substantial federal funding coming to the
state that could be used to build up the workforce in the
state. He suggested that the trust look to invest in the
issue.
9:41:23 AM
Mr. Williams advanced to slide 11, "Trust Grant Impacts":
Increasing residential treatment and support capacity
?$300,000 to Alaska Behavioral Health for
residential mental health treatment in Fairbanks
?$216,000 to the Arc of Anchorage for adult
residential mental health treatment
?$250,000 to Set Free Alaska (Mat-Su) for long
term recovery housing
Supported efforts to prevent and end homelessness
?$250,000 to the Beans Caf? for permanency
navigation and new facility
?$150,000 for the new Southeast Community Center
hub in Juneau
?$250,000 for Fairbanks Rescue Mission for Rapid
Re-Housing
Mr. Williams noted that the projects listed on the slide
were outside the state's budget process and were not MHTAAR
funds. Mr. Williams spoke to the first two bullet points,
which increased access to residential treatment beds. He
noted that several of the project directly addressed
homelessness.
9:43:59 AM
Co-Chair Stedman asked Mr. Williams to elaborate on the
grant listed for the new Southeast Community Center hub in
Juneau.
Mr. Williams mentioned the Teal Center, which was being
constructed in Juneau. The trust was excited to support the
Teal Center, where there would be several non-profit
organizations sharing a space and providing direct services
and well as referral services. He said that the center
would serve the homeless population.
Co-Chair Stedman asked whether he should send homeless
constituents to Juneau.
Mr. Williams detailed that the reason that the grant was
for this facility was because a grant request to assist
with coordinating services organizations in Juneau had been
received by the trust. He believed that Southeast Alaska
Independent Living (SAIL) provided services all over
Southeast.
Co-Chair Stedman reminded the trust to look beyond the hub
areas. He lamented that cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway
System (AMHS) made it difficult for people form more remote
areas to access services.
9:46:29 AM
Senator Hoffman was focused on expanding upon Co-Chair
Stedman's issue with Southeast. He made note of $1.4
million being spent on homelessness in urban Alaska. He
wondered how the trust was assisting homelessness in rural
communities. He thought that the rural northern and western
Alaska were more critical in terms of health, life, and
safety of the homeless, given the climate and geography.
Mr. Williams appreciated Senator Hoffman's question and the
comments from Co-Chair Stedman. He stated that the trust as
an organization was responsible for beneficiaries
throughout the state. He emphasized that resources were
focused on the entire state.
Mr. Williams cited that the trust had provided financial
support to the Winter House in Bethel. The trust had also
helped to establish a homeless shelter in Nome. He
recognized that the two shelters did not address the full
need of northern and western Alaska. He offered to follow
up with additional information.
Senator Hoffman noted that there were many sub-regional
hubs in the state. He cited that there were hundreds of
communities in the state and knew there were entities in
each community that were trying to address homelessness. He
challenged the board to address homelessness in the
smallest areas that were not regional hubs. He contended
that the smaller rural areas of Alaska were being forgotten
by the trust.
9:51:20 AM
Senator Wilson asked whether the trust looked at grantees
in terms of evaluating effectiveness or use of funds. He
asked whether the trust had ever requested or taken legal
action against a grantee for return of funds.
Mr. Williams stated that the trust looked at non-profit
status and standing when it received an application to be
sure that the applicant was in good standing. He noted that
all trust grants required financial and program reporting
that included follow through with performance measure
outlined in grant agreements. He stated that if there was a
situation in which an organization did not meet
expectations, recalling funding would be considered.
Senator Wilson asked whether AMHTA had, in recent years,
revoked any organization's status due to misappropriation
of funds.
Mr. Williams did not know. He agreed to provide the
information.
Co-Chair Stedman suggested that Mr. Williams get back to
the committee with further information.
9:53:51 AM
Mr. Williams looked at slide 12, "Transforming Behavioral
Health Crisis Response":
What is the Crisis Now Framework?
Someone to Talk to, Someone to Respond and a Place to
Go
o Crisis Call Center
o Mobile Crisis Team
o Crisis Response Center
o 23-Hour Stabilization
o Short-term Stabilization
Mr. Williams explained that there were opportunities to
intervene at lower levels of care it saved on costs and
resources. He said that starting at lower levels would have
impact on API and ensure that individuals received the
level of care they needed at the right time.
9:55:58 AM
Co-Chair Bishop asked whether the slide represented the
model that was presented by the prior CEO of the trust and
had been implemented by the State of Arizona. He asked
whether law enforcement included the Alaska State Troopers
to help in emergency situations, particularly in rural
Alaska where there would be no mental health provider to
guide individuals through crisis.
Mr. Williams affirmed that the model was the same as
presented by his predecessor. He thought the next slide
would address Co-Chair Bishop's questions.
9:57:21 AM
Mr. Williams showed slide 13, "Crisis Efforts, Cont'd":
?Working with stakeholders statewide
?Partnerships for new services in population centers
?Fairbanks
?Mat-Su
?Anchorage
?Juneau
?SB124 & HB172
CRISIS NOW Recent Trust Investments
Fairbanks Crisis Now Coordinator Position (City of
Fairbanks)- $135k
Fairbanks Mobile Crisis Teams: Clinical (Alaska
Behavioral Health)
and
Peer Support Specialist (The Bridge) - $807k
Call Center Operations Expansion (Alaska Careline) -
$100k
Anchorage Crisis Stabilization Services Planning
(Southcentral Foundation and Providence Alaska) -
$885k
Mat-Su Crisis Community Development Coordinator (Mat-
Su Health Foundation) - $100k
Mr. Williams stressed that to transform the system required
multiple stakeholders to be able to come together for
change, and that no one entity would have the resources or
capacity to transform the system alone. He highlighted
examples of recent trust investment in the initiative
totaling approximately $2 million in direct grants. He
highlighted the Fairbanks Mobile Crisis Team and referred
to slide 12, noting the relationship between the call
center and the crisis team.
10:00:31 AM
Mr. Williams explained that the availability of the call
center had resulted in resolution of individual case calls
without intervention or higher levels of care.
Mr. Williams noted that the last bullet, represented a
piece of legislation (SB 124) put for the by the
administration that would ensure that people had the
opportunity to be taken into protective custody status to
receive care.
10:03:03 AM
Senator Hoffman referenced slide 11, and the $1.4 million
for urban Alaska. He noted that there was an additional $2
million that also excluded Southeast, and that was millions
more dollars going to urban areas of the state. He reminded
that crises existed throughout the state, and he thought it
seemed that trustees needed to have a broader view of the
problem. He thought when the state was investing $3.5
million in urban areas while turning a blind eye on the
rest of the state was disheartening. He challenged Mr.
Williams and the board to look at mental health issues in
the state on a broader scale. He cited that he was not
criticizing the fact that there were problems in urban
areas that needed addressing but he asserted that the
funding for the different areas of the state was out of
balance.
10:05:30 AM
Senator Olson echoed Senator Hoffman's comments. He asked
what plans the trust had for rural and more remote areas of
the state.
Mr. Williams stated that the trust was looking at rural
Alaska as it discussed initiatives. He assured that staff
resources were being used to communicate with rural
entities such as Norton Sound, Ketchikan, and other areas.
He recognized that the model might not fit directly into
rural communities.
10:07:17 AM
Senator Olson looked at slide 13 and considered the $2
million in recent trust investments. He asked about ongoing
costs for the projects.
Mr. Williams did not have information on ongoing costs. He
anticipated that some of the services would qualify for
Medicaid.
10:08:38 AM
Senator Wilson referenced Mr. William's mention of the
Fairbanks crisis intervention team and diversions from use
of emergency services. He asked whether there was any
information available on the cost savings associated with
the new program.
Mr. Williams did not have the numbers. He said that the
program had only operated for one month.
10:09:53 AM
Senator Hoffman referenced Mr. Williams' mention of
communication with more rural areas of the state. He
thought it would be advisable to set up a demonstration
project in one of the rural areas so that eventually those
rural communities could design their programs from the
ground up.
10:10:54 AM
Mr. Williams referenced slide 14, "Trust Land Office":
Highlights
?Land Sales
?Subdivision Platting
?Icy Cape Development
FY 22 Anticipated Trust Land Office Revenues
Coal - $247,000
Oil and Gas - $1,158,000
Minerals - $1,168,700
Materials - $25,000
Timber $2,747,000
Lands - $3,200,000
Real Estate - $2,068,659
Total - $10,614,359
Mr. Williams thought everyone was aware that the trust land
office operated within the Department of Natural Resources.
He said that many of the parcels were large and subdividing
them made them more accessible to Alaskans and to generate
funds for the trust.
Mr. Williams mentioned that the Icy Cape Development listed
on the slide was a parcel about 75 miles south of Yakutat
and was encouraged to discover hoe the lands could generate
more money for the trust. He cited that the table showed
asset classes within land office revenues. He said that the
lands were diverse and provided various ways to generate
funds.
10:14:03 AM
Co-Chair Stedman asked about the Icy Cape Development and
thought there had been concern in the past about how the
resource complied with the trust settlement agreement. He
asked for more detail on the matter.
Mr. Williams thought Co-Chair Stedman was referring to use
of trust principal in the development, which was a finding
of the 2018 audit. He reminded that the trust had addressed
the issue, and the board had authorized a transfer of trust
income into the principal to compensate for previous use of
the principal invested in the project.
Co-Chair Stedman asked whether the issue had been resolved.
Mr. Williams answered in the affirmative.
Co-Chair Stedman asked how much timber land the trust had
left with which to have timber harvest.
10:15:58 AM
Mr. Williams turned to slide 15, "Trust/USFS Land
Exchange":
?Result of more than a decade of effort
?Multiple stakeholders
?Swaps approx. 17,980 acres of Trust land for approx.
18,494 acres of USFS lands (equal value exchange)
?Hollis
?Naukati
?Shelter Cove
?Revenue generation for Trust beneficiaries
?Preservation of viewsheds and other interests near SE
AK communities
Mr. Williams addressed Co-Chair Stedman's question and
relayed that process had started in 2005 and was the result
of many parties coming together. After more than a decade
of engagement with many stakeholders, the exchange had been
finalized. The parcels listed on the slide had been
transferred to the trust. He anticipated the trust would be
able to generate $25 million to $30 million of revenue in
the future. He agreed to provide more detailed information
about trust lands that had timber resources. He thanked Co-
Chair Stedman for his work on state legislation in 2017.
10:18:34 AM
Co-Chair Stedman recognized that the land exchange had been
completed, and he was under the impression that a lot of
the timber land would be monetized by a ten-year contract.
He wondered what activity would follow the contracts. He
asked about future timber supply over the next 20 to 30
years. He asked Mr. Williams to address the size of future
opportunities and noted that smaller mills were also in
need of fiber supplies.
10:20:02 AM
Senator Wilson asked whether AMHTA had any other land swap
deals in process.
Mr. Williams relayed that there were opportunities being
considered but did not know of any active deals.
Co-Chair Stedman noted there was one parcel in the Shelter
Cove area in which state lands would be transferred to the
trust to facilitate timber and recreation development. He
requested more information on the exchange of land in the
Shelter Cove area.
10:21:30 AM
Senator Wilson requested for the land office to comment on
a gravel pit in his district that was under litigation. He
asked why AMHTA wanted to pursue the lawsuit against the
will of the community.
Mr. Williams offered to provide information later.
10:22:38 AM
Mr. Williams considered slide 16, "In Closing":
?Strong leadership at the board, Trust Authority &
Trust Land Office
?Strong financial position
?Strong partnerships Together = positive impacts for
Beneficiaries
Mr. Williams addressed Co-Chair Stedman's comments about
potential land exchange. He noted that the governor had
asked the land office to identify other state lands that
could be transferred to the trust. The trust had responded
with several parcels that could be transferred; there had
been no movement in status on those lands. He closed that
the trust was in a strong leadership position at all
levels. He commented that the trust had strong partnerships
with all stakeholders to improve the current systems of
care.
10:24:35 AM
Senator Hoffman thanked Mr. Williams and the board for all
the hard work that had been done. He noted that he had been
in the legislature in the 1990's when the formation of the
trust had been finalized. He shared that there had been
many hours of discussion regarding what the
responsibilities of the trust. He asserted that his primary
focus was on services for rural Alaska. He lamented that 30
years after the formation of the thrust he was still
requesting that rural Alaska be an equal priority to the
board as urban areas of the state. He thought that the
board had done a good job and recognized that new and
existing programs should be equitable across the state.
10:26:15 AM
Co-Chair Stedman thanked Senator Hoffman for his service,
spanning two centuries.
10:26:26 AM
Co-Chair Bishop dovetailed on Senator Hoffman's comments.
He thought the committee had identified gaps outside of
urban centers and major hubs. He agreed with Senator
Hoffmans concerns. He asked whether the board had ever
done a needs analysis with all the stakeholders in mental
health to identify gaps in the system He asked about the
number of dollars that might be required to fill any
identified gaps.
Mr. Williams recalled that in 2014 or 2015 there had been a
statewide analysis of the behavioral health system. He did
not recall whether there had been a cost analysis
associated with the report, which was available on the
trust website.
Co-Chair Bishop noted that the report was ten years old and
thought a current analysis would be a valuable comparison.
Co-Chair Stedman thanked the presenters. He directed
members to provide questions to his office. He thought that
the presentation would conclude discussion of the Mental
Health budget.
Co-Chair Stedman discussed housekeeping.
10:31:21 AM
Co-Chair Stedman noted that the meeting schedule could slow
in speed to accommodate staff burnout.
ADJOURNMENT
10:32:08 AM
The meeting was adjourned at 10:32 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 012722 Senate Finance 2022 AMHTrust Presentation.pdf |
SFIN 1/27/2022 9:00:00 AM |
AMHTA |
| 010422 Alaska Mental Health Trust Follow Up Questions Senate Finance 2.3.22.pdf |
SFIN 1/27/2022 9:00:00 AM |