Sisolak: NV must spend more on mental health, but not raise taxes

In an interview with KNPR’s State of Nevada Thursday, Governor-elect Steve Sisolak said he has no intention of raising taxes.

“I’ve committed, we’re not going to be raising taxes. That’s not my intent.”

Instead Sisolak says the state “can do a lot with reallocation” of state revenue streams.

As an example, Sisolak pointed to the relationship between jail and Nevada’s mental health services.

“It costs us more to incarcerate an inmate for a day then it does to put him in a mental health facility. Currently, better than a third of the people we have in the Clark County Detention Center are really not criminals, they’re mental health patients. I’d rather spend that money treating their mental health issues than I would incarcerating them,” Sisolak said.

“We have a mental health crisis,” Sisolak added. “A big part of our homeless situation is mental health. Part of the violence, the crime situation is mental health.”

Sisolak said Nevada hasn’t adequately funded mental health “in the last decade or so, and I want to bring more attention to that.”