St. Joseph County commission approved consulting services

St. Joseph County commissioners last week approved Schaffer Consulting of Bethesda, Md., to review the financial and operating procedures of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County.
Commissioners agreed to include the county health department in the study.
County administrator Pat Yoder said Schaffer is expected to do a follow-up performance and look at opportunities for improvement. Other areas to be evaluated will include appropriateness of manager and staff labor, productivity, quality and compliance, and financial and operational deficiencies.
In a separate consulting matter, commissioners agreed to pursue a contract with Virginia-based National Center for State Courts to review operations in the courts building.
Yoder said the scope of services includes interviews with judges and courts building employees to establish a needs assessment for a proposed addition. County officials are expected to eventually approve the addition of a new courts building to the west end of the current, 41-year-old courts building.