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City panel wins council OK to release opioid-settlement RFP, up to $2.6 million available
Summary
The Casper City Council gave informal approval for an RFP to allocate opioid-settlement funds, with staff to release the solicitation and accept multi-year proposals; the committee said up to $2.6 million could be available and timelines aim for vendor interviews in September.
Councilors on [the Casper City Council] informally authorized release of a request for proposals to spend opioid-settlement funds on community substance-use services, city staff said. The opioid committee told the council it expects the city and county together could make about $2,600,000 available for programs and would like the RFP released to seek proposals from providers.
The RFP will be drafted under guidance the committee discussed with the city attorney and with industry representatives on the committee, a staff member said. “We believe between the county funds and the city funds that there could be as much as $2,600,000 available for this effort,” the staff member told councilors.
Why it matters: committee members emphasized stretching settlement funds over time and allowing multi-year program proposals so a single-year award does not exhaust available money. Councilors raised concerns about spending a large lump sum immediately and asked that the RFP language make multi-year proposals explicitly allowable.
Key details provided by staff and committee members: - The committee expects to time vendor interviews in September and will set cascading deadlines that lead up to that schedule. Staff said proposal due dates are still to be determined pending council and county approval. - Committee members and councilors agreed the settlement language appears broad enough to cover opioid-related treatment and, likely, broader substance-use disorder services; staff said they would confirm the exact grant requirements when finalizing the RFP. - Committee members said the city attorney and an industry representative helped craft RFP language to match the settlement’s guardrails.
Council action and next steps: councilors offered a verbal thumbs-up for staff to release the RFP after the committee updates the draft to allow multi-year proposals and to set deadlines that align with the committee’s timeline. Staff will finalize deadlines and release the solicitation; if providers are selected, staff said a contract would be brought back for committee and council consideration.
What remains unclear: staff said the exact award amounts and schedule depend on proposals received and on how much additional settlement money, if any, continues to arrive. The RFP’s final allowable scope and any programmatic priorities will be confirmed by staff based on legal guidance and committee input.
The council’s discussion on the opioid RFP took place during the meeting’s agenda item on the opioid committee’s request; committee and council remarks were recorded during that item.
