COVINGTON, La. (WVUE) – North shore mental health advocates are concerned about a proposal to cut $600,000 from the Safe Haven facility near Mandeville. The parish is grappling with a budget deficit estimated between $20 million and $30 million, and other cuts are in the works.<\/p>\n
Thirteen years ago, Safe Haven was established as a replacement for Southeast Louisiana Hospital, which was a regional mainstay for mental health treatment, but now Safe Haven is in jeopardy. The parish council has approved an amendment to cut $600,000 from the facility as they look at other cuts as well.<\/p>\n
READ: Two illegal Chinese immigrants arrested in St. Tammany massage parlor prostitution investigation<\/a><\/p>\n As the St. Tammany Parish Council conducts budget hearings, members have voted to forgo raises for all employees next year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem was we don\u2019t know what our insurance costs are going to be,\u201d parish council member Cheryl Tanner said.<\/p>\n The deficit would affect everything from the DA\u2019s office to courthouse security and the jail.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cut the jail, DA and judges by 30 percent … we did not have the money to fund that,\u201d Tanner said.<\/p>\n One council member took aim at the parish president\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n \u201cA reduction in the general fund of $363,000, which would be a reduction in the parish president\u2019s office, the chief administrative office, finance, grant and procurement in the public works fund,\u201d councilmember Arthur Laughlin said.<\/p>\n Parish president Mike Cooper says some of those proposed cuts would affect positions that actually generate money for the parish.<\/p>\n \u201cI was surprised when I received this budget amendment,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith all due respect Mr. Cooper, I do not have to ask your permission or work with you if we want to make cuts,\u201d Laughlin said.<\/p>\n The parish council decided to leave the parish president\u2019s budget intact, but the council budget chair says tough questions remain, especially when it comes to proposed cuts to Safe Haven and impacts on behavioral health providers who operate there.<\/p>\n \u201cThe need in our community is greater than it\u2019s ever been for behavioral health needs,\u201d said Richard Kramer with the Florida Parishes Human Services Authority.<\/p>\n MORE: St. Tammany Parish council delays vote on plan to clean up polluted rivers, bayous<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to say it will be shut down… we have funds… we have six months,\u201d Tanner said, adding she hopes her proposed cuts begin a wider conversation on the long-term future of Safe Haven. A parish efficiency committee is now looking at all parish spending to address long-term chronic deficits and spending priorities.<\/p>\n Cooper says he\u2019s invoked a hiring freeze on all vacant positions.<\/p>\n The 2026 budget remains a work in progress, with more hearings expected between now and the end of the year.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here<\/a> to report it. Please include the headline.<\/p>\n