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Public health briefs commissioners on 1 Washington MOU and formation of local opioid abatement council
Summary
Public Health and Social Services staff reviewed the 1 Washington memorandum of understanding, required uses of opioid settlement funds and the role and duties of the newly formed Thurston County opioid abatement council (OAC). No board action was requested; staff said the OAC must be established before any funds can be spent.
Public Health and Social Services staff delivered an informational briefing Wednesday on the state 1 Washington memorandum of understanding (MOU) that governs local use of opioid settlement funds and on the role of the opioid abatement councils (OACs) created under that MOU.
Katie Strozyk, the county’s opioid and overdose response program manager, told the board: “Participation and signing the 1 Washington MOU was required as a condition of direct payment of opioid funds.” She explained the MOU lists legally approved uses for settlement money and a smaller set of “core strategies” that jurisdictions are expected to prioritize.
Strozyk and Director Jen Fryhite outlined the OAC’s duties: oversight of spending for compliance with approved uses, reporting and public dashboards, reviewing expenditure reports, hearing complaints about improper uses, and maintaining transparency about allocations and awards. Staff said the OAC must be formed before any distribution or spending of opioid settlement funds; Thurston County’s OAC was formed last month, which is why no expenditures have yet been made.
The briefing explained how Thurston County was placed in a seven-county allocation region for initial settlement planning and then moved to smaller subregional OACs aligned with the Cascade Pacific Action Alliance region; Thurston County’s OAC includes the county plus the cities of Lacey, Tumwater and Olympia under an interlocal agreement signed in 2023. Thurston’s OAC representatives reported to the board as Commissioner Grant, council member Cooper, mayor pro tem Dahlhoff and council member Freightstown.
Staff described allowable program categories in exhibit A of the MOU, including expansion of access to treatment and medications for opioid use disorder, recovery support services, primary prevention, overdose prevention and harm-reduction services (for example syringe service programs), warm-handoff programs and expanded treatment for incarcerated or perinatal populations. Strozyk said the MOU also allows jurisdictions to reserve up to 10% of regional opioid funds to cover actual costs to operate an OAC; individual jurisdictions may use up to 10% of their allocations for administration.
Public Health staff said Thurston County already has an opioid response plan developed with community input and had collected community feedback last fall, receiving more than 100 responses that ranked priorities within the core strategies. Staff said the OAC will need to establish processes for soliciting proposals, reviewing and approving or denying applications, and publishing annual reports and a public-facing dashboard that lists revenue and expenditures.
No board action was requested; staff said next steps include convening the OAC for follow-up meetings to discuss potential edits to the MOU and to develop the proposal and award processes. Staff also said they will return with material outlining the county’s opioid response plan and the community input used to develop priorities.
