BANGOR – City councilors are concerned about the effects that state budget cuts could have on some of the community’s most vulnerable residents, namely uninsured and homeless people in need of mental health services.

During their meeting Monday night, councilors unanimously adopted a resolve urging Gov. John Baldacci, the Legislature and other state officials to find ways to make sure that existing services are maintained at an appropriate level while recognizing the budget issues confronting the state.

City officials’ concern stems from reports that state officials planned to cut funding for mental health services as one way to deal with the state’s budget crunch.

The resolve will be sent to the governor, the director of the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services and the co-chairmen of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

Deep cuts in the state budget for community mental health services will strain municipal resources, according to area providers who met with the council’s strategic issues committee last month.

Bangor, a hub for mental health services, will feel the effect directly.

The service providers said they were worried about how the budget cuts would affect Maine’s mentally ill population and the communities where they live and work.

Community-based programs stand to lose about $94 million, necessitating the elimination of many services, Kay Carter, director of adult mental health services at Community Health and Counseling Services, said last month. An estimated 15 percent of the clients served by area public and nonprofit mental health agencies stand to be affected.

Carter attended Monday night’s council meeting to restate her concerns. She thanked city officials for the efforts they were making on behalf of residents in need of the services at risk of being lost to budget cuts, adding that she believed those efforts would make a difference.

According to providers, lost services could include crisis intervention, case management, respite care, help with housing issues, vocational and social skills-building, medication management, direct therapy and transportation to appointments – services considered crucial to an effective community mental health system.

Without these services, the city could see more acutely ill people on the street and more families in crisis, they said.

Police and fire departments could field more calls. Public schools with special needs students could struggle as agencies’ ability to provide support and training in children’s homes is limited. Parents may be forced to seek institutional care for their children in other states.

The providers also said some rural clients dependent on state-funded transportation might move to Bangor to be near services and public transportation.