Story County Board of Supervisors candidate Rick Sanders charged Tuesday night that current county officials had created a "dangerous situation" by leaving almost nothing in the budget for mental health programs from year to year.

But incumbent board member Wayne Clinton rebuked Sanders, saying "If you understood the system better, you'd know that these things are already being done."

The flare-up between Clinton and Sanders was the only political moment to occur at Tuesday's candidate forum on mental health issues.

Seven candidates running for offices at the county level up to the federal level mostly agreed with one another on the issues of mental health and disability.

The forum was sponsored by ARC of Story County, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Central Iowa, and the Richmond Mental Health Center.

Answering a question about whether the state should wrest control of mental health funding from the counties Sanders said, "We need to get creative and find a solution, rather than sit up here and say we don't have enough money."

Sanders, who has criticized the current board of supervisors for its budgeting policies, returned to the theme a number of times, saying deficit funding by the county had created a "yo-yo effect" that damaged county access to state funds.

Clinton, however, said the county had never done deficit funding for mental health services and that if the state were to take over the funding process, inequities between counties that offer more services and those that offer less would result.

The federal level was represented by Becky Greenwald, a Democrat running for Iowa's 4th District congressional seat. Greenwald stressed the need for all Americans to have access to health care, but her comments throughout the forum went unchallenged; a seat reserved for a representative from Rep. Tom Latham's office remained empty. Organizers said Latham had been required to remain in Washington for a vote and was unable to attend the forum.

The bulk of the attendees were state legislators or candidates; State Rep. Dave Deyoe, Rep. Lisa Heddens, and hopefuls Susan Radke (State House District 10) and Ryan Rhodes (State House District 45) fielded questions about the mental health "waiting list" in Iowa, the potential closure of two state institutions catering to those with intellectual disabilities, and legislation that would force private insurance carriers to cover autism therapies.

Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald, who is running unopposed for the office, was largely silent throughout the proceedings, but was given the chance to outline some of the programs at the Story County Jail, including the Jail Diversion Program and a new initiative that allows inmates to receive psychiatric treatment remotely.