Baker County’s three commissioners have some sorting out to do and soon with regard to the private, nonprofit agency that runs the county’s mental health programs.

The county’s contract with Mountain Valley Mental Health (MVMH) expires on Monday.

Commission Chairman Fred Warner Jr. said recently that he expects he and commissioners Carl Stiff and Tim Kerns will decide, either July 2 or July 16, whether to renew that contract.

Here’s the dilemma: The two groups that have expressed an opinion about MVMH recently came to drastically different conclusions about the agency’s performance, and a third Oregon’s Alcohol and Mental Health Division has yet to issue its report.

An Oregon nonprofit that rates mental health providers visited MVMH in mid April and awarded the agency a two-year credential.

andquot;Overall the MVMH team appears to be strongly committed to the provision of mental health services to Baker County,andquot; according to the five-member review team from Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc.

But a local committee, whose 10 members the commissioners appointed, rated MVMH as andquot;not satisfactoryandquot; in 21 of 40 categories.

andquot;While declining (state) revenues may explain part of the low performance, the Committee feels that a greater part of the low rating is the result of poor leadership on the part of MVMH’s administration,andquot; the 10-person group wrote in its report to commissioners.

Although Vicki Long, MVMH executive director, noted that andquot;it is not (that committee’s) job to rate us,andquot; commissioners certainly are obligated to consider the findings of the committee members they appointed.

Commissioners’ unenviable task is to figure out whether MVMH has made andquot;consistent progress,andquot; as the review team concluded, or whether MVMH has changed little from the dysfunctional operation that was deficient in 16 areas, according to a state agency that reviewed MVMH in December 2006.

We suspect the reality lies between those two extremes.

We hope the latest report from the state a rating that is as objective as any commissioners are likely to get will help to clarify what seems to be a murky situation.

It’s a vital task, and some of Baker County’s most vulnerable residents depend on the outcome.