Burlington council approves submission of plan for city’s first Overdose Prevention Center

Burlington City Council on April 28 voted unanimously to approve and submit a project proposal and compliance plan to the Vermont Department of Health to implement an Overdose Prevention Center (OPC) under Act 178, the state legislation that authorized OPCs and related opioid settlement funding. The council’s approval authorizes the mayor’s office to move the proposal into state contract development and begins a planning phase that officials said will include neighborhood assessments, site selection and formal contracts with the selected operator.

The proposal, developed by the mayor’s office in partnership with Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform (VCJR), would use fiscal-year 2026 opioid settlement funds the legislature allocated for OPCs. Theresa (Mayor’s Office staff) told the council the city “is hoping that it will be a vote in favor, to submit this proposal to the Department of Health,” and said the city expects contract review and negotiations with the state to take about six to…