Davis County budget panel weighs options for $17.3 million in opioid settlement funds

Davis County officials and criminal justice partners spent the budget committee meeting discussing how best to use roughly $17.3 million in confirmed opioid settlement funds and whether to preserve principal to generate ongoing interest.

Committee members and county attorneys presented competing proposals that mix one-time capital purchases — including a $200,000 body scanner for the jail and $25,000 in naloxone (Narcan) kits — and ongoing personnel and program costs such as inmate reentry assistance, pretrial supports and new divisions inside the county attorney’s office. County staff cautioned that the confirmed settlements total $17.3 million through 2038 and that the county will receive additional payments in future years but not at levels to sustain large ongoing costs indefinitely.

The discussion focused on two overarching choices: spend down principal to fund programs now (a 15‑year spending horizon was modeled) or preserve more principal as an endowment and use only investment returns to support programs. Scott (meeting moderator/staff) presented a projection showing current expected cash flows and interest, and he said the modeled plan could fund the proposal through about 2040 but would create “a fiscal cliff” after that point unless the county…