Floyd County commissioners approve JRAC recommendations for opioid spending

Floyd County commissioners voted to accept recommendations from the Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council for opioid-response expenditures, the board said during its meeting.

The council’s chair, Judge Kerry Stiller, presented the JRAC recommendations and said the proposal reflected the work of a broad group of stakeholders on the county board. “I am Judge Kerry Stiller, Floyd’s Pierre Court 1,” Stiller said, identifying himself as JRAC chair. He said he was the spokesperson for the group and that the board had reviewed the recommendation in advance.

Commissioners praised the work put into the proposal. One commissioner said the council provides “the details up front, which minimizes the amount of questions” and thanked JRAC members for volunteering outside their regular duties. Commissioners moved and seconded acceptance of the JRAC recommendations, and the board recorded an affirmative vote.

The recommendations include funding for jail transition coordination and other opioid-response efforts; Stiller said the group endorsed a package of expenditures and that JRAC members and law-enforcement representatives were present to answer questions. Kara Hodges, identified by Stiller as chair of the opioid finance committee and a sergeant in the county jail, and other JRAC members attended the meeting.

The motion recorded at the meeting approved JRAC’s recommendations and the board did not request further changes to the proposal during the session.

Commissioners said they appreciated the time JRAC members contributed and the work done to craft the recommendation. The board did not adopt any ordinance or policy changes at the meeting; the action recorded was the board accepting JRAC’s spending recommendations as presented.