Each Thursday, we put one of our local newsmakers On The Spot.This week: Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Roger Mills

This week's question: As the new chairman of the Cayuga County Legislature, what is your top priority for 2008, and how will you work with your fellow Republicans and the Democratic minority to make it happen?

My top priority for 2008 is to resolve the physical issues related to the mental health outpatient clinic at the Old Historic Post Office.

It is well documented that the basement facility is inadequate for the appropriate delivery of treatment services. Deficiencies identified by the state Office of Mental Health date back to 1999 and have been repeatedly identified up to and including the most recent inspection of September 2007.

Finally, the Office of Mental Health had enough of the county's delays and excuses and imposed punitive sanctions on the amount of reimbursement the county receives for providing services. These sanctions will continue until a comprehensive plan of corrective action is submitted, approved and enacted.

The deficiencies are numerous and not easily corrected within the old post office. The fact that the clinic is in the old building poses additional limitations since it is listed on the National Historic Register of Buildings, with renovations requiring approval of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. An extensive study was conducted last year to research alternative courses of action. The clinic would either be relocated to a different facility or the old building would be renovated. It was determined that the best solution would be renovation of the existing facility with an estimated cost of $3 million. The Legislature was divided on the expenditure and the proposal never came to a vote.

In December 2007, Auburn Memorial Hospital presented the Legislature with a feasibility study where all mental health services could be consolidated in one location. The study contains different options and alternative costs for locating all the services within a vacant wing of the hospital, with costs ranging from $2.5 million to $6.3 million.

This tight timeline will require the dedicated commitment of all legislators, Republican and Democrat alike. A task force has been composed of the chairs of the Health and Human Services, Planning and Economic Development and Ways and Means committees, and its members will have unlimited access to all county departments to gather and analyze the required information. Our ultimate goal is to correct a deficiency that has existed far too long while providing quality cost-effective treatment to the consumers utilizing mental health services. Achieving this goal while simultaneously helping to strengthen and stabilize our hospital will be an accomplishment for which we can all be proud.