Local veterinarian Darrell Monfort challenged Allen County Commissioners Tuesday over their decision to reduce county funding for the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center (SEKMHC), calling the justification based on executive salaries “ridiculous” and warning of long-term consequences for rural communities.
“I’m looking for clarification,” Monfort began during the public comment portion of the commissioners’ meeting. “I find the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center situation really crazy.”
Allen County recently voted to reduce its annual $167,000 contribution to SEKMHC to $1.
But Monfort argued the cut may do more harm than good.
“If they’re not meeting their obligations, then we’ve got something to say,” Monfort acknowledged. “But if the services are being provided and nobody’s complaining about that, then I don’t understand the complaint about salaries.”
Commissioners were quick to clarify that their concern lies primarily with what they consider inflated compensation among SEKMHC’s leadership, not with the services rendered.
“I have no problem with the services,” said Commissioner David Lee. “But… the leadership team salaries are probably out of line with their peers. That is my bone of contention.”
LEE ALSO said his concerns extend beyond salaries, pointing to what he sees as overlapping services in the county.
“The other thing that kind of bothers me is that we’re duplicating services,” he said. “We’re creating another Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas. Do we need two CHCs in Allen County? There’s going to be a point in time when we may only have one, maybe two pharmacists — because we’re pushing the private ones out. One doctor I know at Ashley Clinic tells me you can’t make any money competing against the government. Those two entities are the government. We’re forcing doctors to have to come and work in these organizations whether they want to or not. We are creating a socialized medicine situation.”
While Lee did not mention the physician’s name, Lee’s brother, Dr. Bruce Lee, is on staff at Ashley Clinic, which was purchased by the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center in July 2023.
Monfort, however, dismissed the salary argument as a red herring.
“I think the complaint about the salaries is BS,” he said. “Professionals deserve to be paid. If we want those types of people in our rural communities, we need to pay them.”
Monfort pointed to his own challenges in the veterinary field, where Kansas salaries lag behind neighboring states by roughly $10,000.
“To get another veterinarian in here, I have to meet those dollars,” he said. “It’s no different for mental health professionals.”
COMMISSIONERS maintained that the funding cut was a practical fiscal decision, not a statement against mental health.
“As long as they have those grants, why are we giving them additional dollars?” Lee asked. “We can take that $167,000 and put it toward equipment or lower the mill levy.”
