Pubdate: Mon, 25 Feb 2002 Source: Athens News, The (OH) Copyright: 2002, Athens News Contact: http://www.athensnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1603 Author: Nick Claussen Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) COMMISSIONERS QUESTION TASC ON PLAN TO BECOME NON-PROFIT A local government agency that works on drug treatment and drug prevention programs is trying to become a non-profit corporation separate from the Athens County government. And while the agency tries to evolve, at least two Athens County Commissioners have some questions about how the agency is being organized and whether it's the best way to fight the drug war. The agency in question is the Athens/Hocking/Vinton Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes (TASC). Charles Walker, director of operations for TASC, discussed the changes that TASC wants to undertake with the commissioners last week. TASC currently does not charge for its services and receives all of its revenue from grant funding. By becoming a non-profit corporation, TASC can bill for its services and receive funding from other areas, Walker said. Much of the billing, he added, would be through government programs such as Medicaid. The agency wants to become self-supporting, and this is a natural process that it is going through to become a more effective agency, Walker said. In order to become a non-profit corporation, it needs the assistance of the Athens County Commissioners, who currently oversee TASC. The assistance Walker sought last week involved reorganizing TASC because some currently vacant positions are being eliminated and new positions are being created. During their meeting last Tuesday, the commissioners said they want to help TASC grow, but Commissioners Mark Sullivan and Bill Theisen raised some questions about that growth. Sullivan particularly questioned why TASC is going to pay $26,000 a year for the new position of a part-time, 20-hour-a-week internal auditor. Walker said the position is needed for all of the financial paperwork connected with the reorganization. Sullivan said, however, that he doubts that all of the work the agency is talking about can be completed in 20 hours a week. If the position is pushed up to full-time, that would raise the salary to $52,000 a year, he said. If the salary is that high, Sullivan added, people in positions above the internal auditor likely would want their salaries raised as well. Walker said he does not want to deceive the commissioners and added that it's likely that the position could be moved to full-time in the future. Commissioner Theisen said that the agency is continuing to grow and grow and cost more and more, and he wondered if it is worth all of the money. With all of the drug problems in the country, Theisen said he wonders if more money shouldn't be spent in law enforcement and stopping the drug problem that way, instead of on treatment programs. Walker responded by saying how the majority of money already is spent on law enforcement and trying to stop drugs from entering the country. He said it's very important to fund programs such as TASC. He and Theisen, Walker said, simply have different philosophies on the best way to solve the drug problem. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth