The Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday adopted Resolution No. 2025-82 to allocate the county’s 2026 special alcohol and drug program funds, following the recommendations of the special alcohol and drug grant review committee.

Jennifer Sauer, financial administrator, introduced the item and said the county brought Carrie Higgins from the City of Topeka’s housing division to present the committee’s recommendations. Higgins said the committee estimates roughly $50,000 will be available for 2026; the funds come from the state liquor tax with one-third statutorily required to be allocated for treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Higgins described the grant timeline: the RFP was released in June, applications were due in July, the review committee met in August and the recommendations were presented to the advisory council in September. Agencies had a week to appeal; Higgins said there were no appeals this year. The county governing body will also consider the recommendations at its upcoming meeting.

Commissioner Kevin Cook moved to approve the allocation per the committee’s recommendations; Commissioner Aaron Mays seconded. The motion passed 3-0.