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Council hears update on EMOTE outreach and opioid settlement notices
Summary
City staff reported continued state grant funding for the emergency mobile opioid team (EMOTE), provided program statistics since launch, and City Attorney David Hall said the city will be asked to join a court-approved Purdue Pharma settlement; the city also expects roughly $316,000 from prior opioid settlements.
City staff told the Everett City Council on Aug. 13 that the city will continue the Emergency Mobile Opioid Team (EMOTE) program using a second state grant and detailed the program’s work since it launched a little over a year ago.
According to staff, EMOTE is a partnership between the city and Concord Clinics that brings treatment and peer counseling directly to people experiencing substance use disorder on the street. Staff reported that since the team launched last July it has had 601 meaningful contacts, completed 45 substance use disorder assessments, made 375 inpatient rehab referrals, secured 54 detox placements, and provided 293 referrals to outpatient treatment with Concord Clinics.
The administration said the state grant will allow the city to continue the program and noted a short presentation from the Northwest Innovation Resource Center is planned at an upcoming meeting; staff did not specify an exact date for that presentation in the Aug. 13 record.
City Attorney David Hall briefed the council on a separate opioid-related matter, saying the city will be asked in the coming weeks to authorize participation in a court-approved Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement proposal. Hall said he did not yet have the allocation formula and did not know how much money this proposal would deliver to Everett, but he said the city will be asked to participate so it is not one of the few plaintiffs left to pursue separate claims. Hall also noted the city recently received notices from the opioid settlement administrator that the city will receive approximately $316,000 cumulatively from prior settlements with distributors, some producers and pharmacies.
In other administrative business, staff described the city’s 10-year vehicle replacement list and how vehicles are prioritized for replacement based on age, maintenance costs, mileage, hours and condition; staff said departments meet in person to confirm replacements before purchases are made. Councilors also discussed upcoming budget committee scheduling and requested updates on COVID recovery fund balances and planned allocations.
Minutes for the Aug. 6 meeting and consent items 1–9 (with item 8 continued to Aug. 20) were approved by roll-call vote on Aug. 13; all present council members voted yes.
