Franklin resigns from AMHC

Mental health chief
may not leave right away

By REGGIE PONDER
Staff Writer

Monday, January 05, 2009

Albemarle Mental Health Center Director Charles Franklin has resigned but might not leave the agency for several months, a member of the center’s Board of Directors confirmed Monday.

“Mr. Franklin has already tendered his resignation,” said Phil Faison, chairman of the Camden County Board of Commissioners and a member of the AMHC Board of Directors.

Faison said Franklin’s resignation would take effect in mid-March or early April, depending on when the AMHC director’s retirement takes effect.

“He (Franklin) has said as soon as his retirement paperwork could be processed by the state he would vacate the position,” Faison said, adding he thought Franklin’s departure might come sooner if the paperwork were expedited by the state.

“Given everything that has happened I certainly will go along with what he wants to do,” Faison said.

AMHC recently laid off some 80 employees and discontinued “direct services” to about 3,000 patients in a 10-county area, including Camden and Pasquotank counties. The changes reflect a mandate from the state’s Division of Mental Health to switch to private delivery of services but also took place amid questions about local management of program funds.

A spokesman for the Division of Mental Health said Monday he expected information on the division’s recent audit of AMHC to be available later this week.

Faison said Franklin’s announcement saves the AMHC board from some difficult discussions about the director’s position when it meets today at 7 p.m. at the old courthouse in Edenton.

But Marshall Stevenson, chairman of the Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners, said Monday he thought Franklin should resign immediately.

“Frankly, I do,” Stevenson said when asked if he had any concerns about Franklin continuing at AMHC for up to three more months. “With the events that have unfolded, I don’t see why he’s not already gone.”

Stevenson said he wants to be sure the AMHC board handles Franklin’s leaving in a responsible way.

“I hope there’s not a golden parachute or anything like that involved with this,” he said.

Stevenson said there might be a good reason for the board’s tolerant stance toward Franklin, but he’s not aware of it.

He said he had requested to join in the AMHC board’s closed discussions as an “ex-officio” member, but had been informed that state law prohibits it.

Stevenson acknowledged that the Pasquotank board knows little about what has transpired at AMHC. State officials in October said the mental health agency had already spent its entire $6 million allotment of state funding for a year in only four months. AMHC officials also acknowledged spending $4.9 million from the agency’s reserves over the past two years.

“We haven’t gotten any information on what has gone on, Stevenson said.

But he added that the Pasquotank board had not pressed Commissioner Cecil Perry, the county’s representative on the AMHC Board of Directors, for more information.

“I really can’t blame him at this point for not keeping us up-to-date or informed about what was going on,” Stevenson said, noting he wasn’t sure what Perry and other AMHC board members might have been told they had to keep confidential.

Stevenson said he hoped more information would come to light soon about how and why the agency’s funding situation became so critical. If not, area counties should join forces to address management issues at AMHC, Stevenson said.

Stevenson added he was very interested in learning the results of the state audit.