Taxpayer-Funded Agency May Appoint Director Without Advertising Position

By Josh Mitchell

Corinth Today News Editor

The job to oversee a five-county mental health agency has not been advertised and may not be, an official said Friday.

Corinth-based Region IV Mental Health Services has been without a permanent executive director for a year and a half. The job has not been advertised during that time period, said Greg Collier, chairman of the Region IV Mental Health Services Board.

However, Collier said the mental health board may discuss at its next meeting whether to advertise the position. A date for the meeting has not been set, but the board normally meets in Corinth at the Region IV administration office located at 303 N. Madison St.

Jason Ramey has been serving as interim executive director for more than a year and may be made the permanent director without advertising the job. Ramey remains a very strong candidate to fill the executive director position on a permanent basis, Collier said. He noted that Ramey was trained by the previous executive director Charlie Spearman.

Ramey’s mom, Judy Ramey, used to be a Prentiss County representative on the Region IV board. But Ramey said his mom resigned from the board when he started employment with the agency in July of 2016 to avoid a conflict of interest. Region IV is a taxpayer-funded mental agency with a multimillion-dollar budget and several hundred employees.

One of the main issues surrounding Ramey’s possible appointment as executive director is his lack of a master’s degree in a mental health-related field, which is typically required by state Department of Mental Health Operational Standards. Waivers of certain standards can be sought on a case-by-case basis, and a waiver would have to be requested from the state to appoint Ramey the permanent executive director.

Ramey’s master’s degree is in business administration, but he does have more than 13 years of experience working in the mental health field. Some officials believe Ramey’s combination of a business background and working in the mental health field make for an ideal background to lead the agency. However, others think the executive director should have a master’s degree in mental health in order to be executive director.

In its waiver request, Region IV would have to show that services would not be diminished if the waiver were granted. A timeline for the waiver would also have to be specified.

A permanent executive director could be appointed early next year, Collier said. Ramey has worked for Region IV for two and a half years.