IOLA, Kan. — Iola Veterinarian Darrel Monfort questioned Allen County Commissioners Tuesday about their decision to eliminate all but one dollar of the funding it provides to Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, voicing concerns on the impact it would have on services.
“I think it would be ridiculous to wipe out one percent of the account, and I wondered if the county zeroed it out, are they still obligated to provide services to us,” Dr. Monfort told Commissioners.
SEKMHC has been under fire over salaries paid to top executives, which has led five of the six counties funding it to either slash their contributions to a token amount or eliminate it altogether. Commissioner David Lee, noting the funding from those six counties represents just one percent of a budget that is largely grant and Medicare/Medicaid funded, said a loss of those grants would cause them to take another look, but “right now when they’re paying those kinds of dollars, they don’t need county dollars.”
Commission chair Jerry Daniels related a conversation with a now former SEKMHC board member that factored into his thinking. “Their budget increased so dramatically they had to find a way to spend the money. Now that’s a response I’m not going to respect,” Daniels said.
Dr Monfort noted in the discussion the salaries needed to bring medical professionals into this area are significant, something he has experienced in his veterinary practice, which brought a response that CEO’s of area companies make nowhere near what SECMHC’s top executives are paid.
He also expressed a concern that this action could at some point lead to a reduction in services at a time when they are needed even more than they are now.
Four of the other five counties that provide funds to SEKMHC – Anderson, Bourbon, Linn and Neosho – have either eliminated 2026 funding allocations altogether or cut it back to one dollar. The 5th county, Woodson, has proposed a funding cut for 2026, but not to the extent of the other counties.
