Muncie council approves transfer of $526,072.77 in opioid settlement funds for police and fire raises after heated public comment

The Muncie Common Council voted April 7 to transfer $526,072.77 of unrestricted opioid settlement funds to pay salary increases for the city’s police and fire departments, following an extensive public comment period that included pleas from people in recovery and local service providers to reserve the money for treatment and prevention.

The dispute centered on competing uses for opioid settlement dollars. Deputy City Controller Matt Wigley told the council that the $526,072.77 “represents less than a third of the amount appropriated for this year. There's $1,138,450.51 that is to go directly to the treatment of opioid addiction.” Wigley and other city officials said the transfer is needed to fund negotiated contracts and avoid an economic emergency that could force the city to reopen bargaining.

The council’s vote followed repeated public pleas to prioritize harm reduction and long-term recovery services. Tanya Pearson, who identified herself as living in the South Central neighborhood and said she is “an addict and alcoholic in recovery for 18 years,” told the council the payment should “be invested in both recovery and harm reduction centers, but also in long term aftercare programs with a focus on longer term goals, like sufficient…