Even if funding that’s been proposed for the new wing at the Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center doesn’t come through, the facility will still continue to operate efficiently.

That’s the word from Dr. James Reynolds, the center’s medical director. He said with lack of bed space being an issue for a number of years, the organization has learned to be more efficient.

“You can either add more beds or use more efficiently the ones you have,” Dr. Reynolds said. “Either way, you get more capacity.”

Funding for the new wing at the center looked promising last week when Rep. Dr. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, successfully amended House Bill 19 during a House budget hearing. But saying it’s in trouble now would be an understatement.

The budget committee supported Dr. Schaaf’s proposal to put $7.45 million in federal stabilization money toward the planning, design and construction of a 28-bed ward at the St. Joseph mental health facility. In the last week, however, House Republicans have changed their philosophy toward the federal funds.

“We were just engaging in creating pet projects,” House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, told the News-Press. Agreement never came between Gov. Jay Nixon’s office, House Democrats and House Republicans on which projects to prioritize. “As a result, a number of good projects aren’t going to happen,” he said.

Republicans this week have advanced new budget bills, 21 and 22, that don’t include funding for the new psychiatric wing in St. Joseph. Floor debate started Wednesday.

“It hit that this was a lot of spending on programs that we wouldn’t normally borrow money for,” Dr. Schaaf said.

Dr. Reynolds said if the bill was approved, the additional wing would add 28 beds and about 50 more jobs. Currently, the 108-bed facility is full to capacity, with about 80 percent forensic or court-ordered patients and 20 percent civil patients. NMPRC currently has 330 employees. And if the bill was approved, it wouldn’t have an immediate impact.

“It would have to be totally constructed, so this would probably be anywhere from two to four years down the road,” Dr. Reynolds said.

Even if the addition isn’t a goal in the near future, Dr. Reynolds said the department is working with the court system to move forensic cases through the legal system more efficiently, which would also help free up more bed space.

Instead of pushing construction projects to jump-start the economy, House Republicans are touting a new half-percent income tax cut for Missourians. Democrats criticize the cut for providing more relief for the wealthy.

“It makes me sad we didn’t decide on that before we did all that work,” Dr. Schaaf said of the psychiatric center. “I think that what we’re doing is philosophically better. We may have to look toward next year.”

Another House budget committee member, Rep. Ed Wildberger, who advocated for the psychiatric center and tried to capture $500,000 for an educational lab at Hillyard Technical Center, disagreed. That project received the boot, as well.

“I’m doubly disappointed. These are good, solid, needed projects for our community,” the St. Joseph Democrat said. “They would’ve put people to work … (A tax cut) is not going to stimulate the economy.”

The Legislature’s constitutional deadline to complete the budget is next Friday. With that time crunch, Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, a St. Joseph Republican, said the income tax cut would be difficult to pass in the Senate. He predicted that senators would significantly alter the House’s new budget bills, but doesn’t anticipate the psychiatric center funding will return.

Alonzo Weston and Alyson E. Raletz can be reached at alonzow@npgco.com and alysonraletz@npgco.com.