2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 122C - Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Act of 1985.
§ 122C-115. Duties of counties; appropriation and allocation of funds by counties and cities.

§ 122C‑115.  Duties of counties; appropriation and allocation of funds by counties and cities.

(a)        A county shall provide mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services through an area authority or through a county program established pursuant to G.S. 122C‑115.1. The catchment area of an area authority or a county program shall contain either a minimum population of at least 200,000 or a minimum of six counties. To the extent this section conflicts with G.S. 153A‑77(a), the provisions of G.S. 153A‑77(a) control.

(a1)      Effective July 1, 2007, the Department of Health and Human Services shall reduce by ten percent (10%) annually the administrative funding for LMEs that do not comply with the catchment area requirements of subsection (a) of this section. However, an LME that does not comply with the catchment area requirements because of a change in county membership shall have 12 months from the effective date of the change to comply with subsection (a) of this section.

(b)        Counties shall and cities may appropriate funds for the support of programs that serve the catchment area, whether the programs are physically located within a single county or whether any facility housing a program is owned and operated by the city or county. Counties and cities may make appropriations for the purposes of this Chapter and may allocate for these purposes other revenues not restricted by law, and counties may fund them by levy of property taxes pursuant to G.S. 153A‑149(c)(22).

(c)        Except as authorized in G.S. 122C‑115.1, within a catchment area designated in the business plan pursuant to G.S. 122C‑115.2, a board of county commissioners or two or more boards of county commissioners jointly shall establish an area authority with the approval of the Secretary.

(d)        Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, counties shall not reduce county appropriations and expenditures for current operations and ongoing programs and services of area authorities or county programs because of the availability of State‑allocated funds, fees, capitation amounts, or fund balance to the area authority or county program. Counties may reduce county appropriations by the amount previously appropriated by the county for one‑time, nonrecurring special needs of the area authority or county program. (1977, c. 568, s. 1; c. 679, s. 7; 1979, c. 358, ss. 5, 23; 1981, c. 51, s. 3; 1985, c. 589, s. 2; 1989, c. 625, s. 14; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 749, s. 1; 1999‑202, s. 1; 2001‑437, s. 1.8; 2004‑124, s. 10.26(a); 2006‑66, s. 10.32(c), (d); 2007‑504, s. 1.3.)