McLean County is awarding about $1.7 million in mental health and public safety funding to nearly a dozen local organizations, following a revamping of the application and selection process.
Awards range from $30,000 to $650,000, and will go to groups such as Home Sweet Home Missions, Lifelong Access, and The Baby Fold.
During its meeting Thursday, the county board OK’d contracts for the funding.
“Over the last few years, we’ve been making quite a few changes with the shared sales tax and Mental Health and Public Safety Fund,” and how to utilize that, said board chair Elizabeth Johnston.
The county has had a dispute over that combined tax with Normal and Bloomington. In March, the county board approved a three-month suspension of paying sales tax money from the city and town.
A 2025 rewrite of the Behavioral Health Action Plan created improvements in how these funds can be accessed and distributed, said Johnston, adding the goal for the funding process was “to condense it, to clarify it and to really open it up” to local partners so they can better understand what’s available.
The action plan rewrite caused a delay in the funding process for 2026, said Johnston, adding 2027 projects should be announced in January.
Under the new process, an independent panel of behavioral health experts is charged with vetting those submissions.
Also new, strategic priorities for mental health and public safety funding will go before the Mental Health and Public Safety Fund Advisory Council [FAC] in August, said Johnston. “[The priorities] will be more targeted into what we want to see impacted,” as well as clarify expectations for metrics reporting to measure results, she said.
A few of the awards were announced prior to the adoption of the county board’s annual budget. That’s because federal cuts were threatening interruption in their ability to provide continuous service, said county administrator Cassy Taylor.
“The FAC approved the designation of these funds to community projects last year,” she said. Affected groups included The Baby Fold, Brightpoint, YouthBuild, and the Boys & Girls Club.
Board member Eric Hansen, of District 8, was absent Thursday.
Strategic Plan adopted, heads to next phase
For the first time, McLean County has a comprehensive strategic plan. It's six priority areas are: fiscal stewardship, operations, safety and health, communication, infrastructure, and economic development.
The plan's been in development since October.
County Administrator Taylor said this strategic plan covers the next two years, and includes foundational elements to guide county operations and policy direction. But, the next phase will add details to the six goal categories.
Board members will develop a timeline, and specific ways to implement the plan, said Chair Johnston, adding that such a strategic plan has been a goal of hers since she first joined the board in 2018.
The steering committee was formed from a cross-section of county stakeholders — more than a dozen elected and appointed officials, and county employees. Among those were county board members like Johnston, staff including administrator Taylor, and engineer Jerry Stokes, and McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane.
Colonial Meadows subdivision
Federal funding could be headed to a water quality improvement project for Colonial Meadows subdivision, located off far East Oakland Avenue, just outside Bloomington's city limits.
At Thursday’s board meeting, health committee chair Corey Beirne shared that U.S. Rep Darin LaHood is adding the funding request as part of appropriations recommendations. Several steps remain before the funding proposal gets final approval.
But, if all goes well, money could arrive in about a year, said Beirne.
Beirne said county leaders sought several million dollars to upgrade Colonial Meadows' water infrastructure when they joined area leaders in March for the One Voice lobbying trip to Washington, D.C.
“It’s in dire need of an upgrade,” Beirne told WGLT after the meeting.
The neighborhood faces low water flow, a failing well system that causes water discoloration, and drainage and sewage problems, he said.
“We’ve been working on this for several years. … They’ve got an antiquated water system that is failing,” Beirne said.
The county also has been partnering with local and state agencies, including the Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District on the Colonial Meadows issue.
In other business, the board:
- Voted 18-1 in favor of a special use permit for a new solar energy farm. Towanda Renewables LLC wants to build a solar energy facility and a battery energy storage system [BESS] in the Blue Mound Township, northwest of the intersection of 1900 North and 2500 East roads. Board member William Friedrich, of District 2, voted “no” citing concerns with fire hazards.
