EL PASO, Texas -- It is either a case of a misunderstanding or perhaps someone has had a change of heart.

El Paso County Judge Anthony Cobos said the CEO at University Medical Center, Jim Valenti, agreed to give El Paso Mental Health Mental Retardation $250,000 to help with a financial hardship.

Cobos said Valenti made the agreement during a special meeting at Commissioners Court to discuss helping MHMR.

But at the County Commissioners meeting on Monday, Cobos said Valenti said something different.

“Mr. Valenti said he indeed did not commit $250,000 to MHMR, but that he committed it to mental health in general," Cobos said.

KFOX tried to contact Mr. Valenti several times Monday to get clarity on his statements, but staff members at UMC said he was tied up in meetings and that he had no official statement.

KFOX also looked up the video of the county commissioners meeting on Sept. 9, 2009, which is the date of the meeting that Cobos claims Valenti made the financial commitment.

The is video available on the county’s Web site.

At about four hours into the meeting that day, commissioner Veronica Escobar asks Valenti “Can we get the 250K from UMC up front and that be the 1st month payment?”

Another commissioner asked Valenti if he would commit to that.

Valenti is not shown on camera when the question is answered. Since he is shown in other segments of the meeting it was determined to be his voice answering the question as follows, “As long as we are in tier 1 and we sit down with Gary (Gary Larcenaire, CEO of MHMR), sit down between now and Friday and figure out what his great plan is,” Valenti is heard saying in the county commissioners meeting.

MHMR officials said they were surprised and if the agency doesn’t get some money soon, they will have to put people on a waiting list.

Judge Cobos said that commissioners will encourage leaders at University Medical Center to give the $250,000 to MHMR. He also noted that if UMC doesn’t, the burden would then be with the tax payers.

The tier 1 agreement, between UMC and MHMR , would call for employees at MHMR to get their health benefits through University Medical Center, instead of the current agreement with Providence.

Cobos also had concerns about that deal.

So far MHMR has not signed-off on the deal, but it is still something that the agency is considering.