The Carroll County Board of Supervisors is seeking to recoup at least some funding from the Rolling Hills Community Services Region as the organization dissolves following significant changes to the state’s mental health programs. Rolling Hills provides mental health services for more than 10 counties in west central and northwest Iowa, but District 3 Supervisor Gene Meiners, who sits on the organization’s governing board, says the region will be dissolved on June 30, 2025. The region owns two properties, one in Sac City valued at $69,750 and the other in Sioux City valued at $776,300. Rolling Hills will need to dispose of the property when it dissolves, but Meiners says there is some disagreement between its governing board on how that should be handled.
Other members of the governing board are suggesting the Sac City property be donated to the Plains Area Mental Health Center and the Sioux City property be donated to the Siouxland Mental Health Center. Neither entity has ever paid rent to the Rolling Hills. Interim District 5 Supervisor Mark Beardmore says this is a simple issue, and Carroll County should get back as much of its investment as it can.
According to Meiners, the Rolling Hills’ governing board consists of six supervisors from the member counties. The rest of the 13-member board are representatives not elected by constituents.
Two local member counties, Sac and Crawford, do not have representation on the governing board at all. Supervisors Stephanie Hausman, Scott Johnson, and Mike Andersen echoed Beardmore and Meiners’ stance that Carroll County should recoup its investment. They encouraged Meiners to continue pushing for that outcome at the next Rolling Hills board meeting.
