Mental health advocates are expressing concern that the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority is straying from its mission after the sudden resignation of its CEO, and several groups are calling for special audits of the trust.
Within days of the resignation of Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority CEO Jeff Jessee and allegations of Open Meetings Act violations by members of the Board of Trustees, four of the boards that advise the trust and look out for its beneficiaries have held special meetings calling for action.
The chair of the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and Special Education, Amy Simpson, attended last week’s trust board meeting and said the Trustees’ actions lacked transparency.
“It just appeared to me, just from the conversations between the trustees, that four members of the board were well informed of the discussion that was about to take place and three were not at all informed,” she said during a phone interview. “And that seemed odd and not very transparent to me.”
Simpson said her board is concerned with the legitimacy of the decision-making process.
Michael Horton with the Alaska Mental Health Board spoke during a joint special meeting with the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. He said the trust should have consulted its four advisory boards before taking drastic actions which could hurt beneficiaries.
“What happened was, I felt a little bit like an ambush,” he said. “And it’s not right that it be handled that way.”
The boards are asking Governor Bill Walker’s office to look into the trustee’s actions.
The Mental Health Board, the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and Special Education have all voted to support the call for a special audit of the Mental Health Trust. Former government officials have called into question the use of trust money for developing a mine and purchasing out-of-state property.
According to a statement by Walker spokesperson Grace Jang, “The governor’s office is taking seriously all of the concerns that have been brought forward. They are all currently under review.”
That includes concerns about potential Open Meetings Act violations, Jessee’s shifting role within the trust, and the need for a special audit of the trust. Jang said she does not know when any decisions will be made.
Jessee will remain CEO until the governor approves the change in leadership.
The Mental Health Trust has about $500 million in cash assets and manages a million acres of land. It serves approximately 73,000 people in Alaska who experience mental illness, developmental disabilities, chronic substance use, Alzheimer’s or traumatic brain injuries.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her atahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annehere.
