Carmelo Hernandez, right, speaks at the county legislature’s Audit and Control Committee meeting.

Chautauqua County must spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more for court-ordered mental evaluations.

During the December legislature meeting, county lawmakers approved a resolution to transfer $380,000 from its undesignated fund balance to the Mental Hygiene Department to pay for full cost for care, maintenance and services and/or evaluation of patients placed in the New York State Office of Mental Health facilities pursuant to orders of the county criminal courts and/or family courts.

The resolution was not discussed during the full legislature meeting, but was discussed during earlier committee meetings.

“This is for incarcerated individuals that are either deemed not fit, or we’re trying to find out if they’re fit to stand trial for their charges,” explained Carmelo Hernandez, director of the Mental Hygiene Department.

In the past the state paid for half of the charges, but in April, 2021, the cost was shifted to counties.

This is the second time this year the county has had to add money for these types of orders. In August, the legislature approved transferring $350,000, after only budgeting $150,000 for the year.

According to Budget Director Kathleen Dennison, the county has budgeted $250,000 for 2023.

With this transfer, the county will have spent $880,000 in 2022, which is still more than three times higher than what is budgeted for next year. “It will obviously be a challenge, given current environments, to stay within that budget next year,” said Dennison.

Hernandez said they want to meet with judges, public defenders and prosecutors to become more proactive with these types of cases, to avoid evaluations if deemed unnecessary.

He gave the example of an individual who was intellectually disabled in Chemung County who keyed a car. That individual was expected to be ordered for a court evaluation, but their Mental Hygiene Department was familiar with the individual and knew he wouldn’t be found fit for trial, so they were able to avoid that cost.

The full legislature approved transferring the $380,000 to cover the costs.