Opioid Abatement Authority details application steps, deadlines and common errors for city and county grants

The Opioid Abatement Authority on Wednesday walked cities and counties through how to complete FY27 renewal and new grant applications, stressing an 11:59 p.m. March 16, 2026 deadline, early preparation, and alignment between narrative, performance measures and budget figures.

"Start early," said Charlie Linticum, director of operations for the Opioid Abatement Authority, noting that applications assembled at the last minute often contain inconsistencies that delay review and awards. The webinar—part of the OAA’s Abatement Academy series—also reviewed which data localities must provide, how the grants portal and lookup tools work, and how the OAA divides settlement funds.

Why it matters: Cities and counties must submit accurate fiscal and program data in the OAA grants portal so awards are calculated correctly and so funds do not revert under OAA policy. The Authority also evaluates cooperative partnership applications competitively and requires specific documentation—agreements, budget narratives, and direct distribution reports—from fiscal agents and partner localities.

Most important details

The OAA reiterated the FY structure for awards (Commonwealth fiscal year: July 1–June 30) and the application deadline for cities and counties: 11:59 p.m., March 16, 2026. Renewal applicants for FY27 should assemble FY26 projected and year-to-date expenditures by expense category (personnel, operating, capital) and by revenue source (OAA categories such as individual distribution, gold standard incentive, cooperative partnership, and any non‑OAA funds). "You need to know your projected expenditures and those expenditures by expense category," said Sharika Bridges, the OAA’s senior grants compliance analyst.

The presenters emphasized that reported expenditures and performance measures must reflect the awardee city or county's books, not those of subrecipients. Personnel hired by subrecipients should be listed as operating expenses for the awardee. The fiscal agent named on a cooperative partnership application is responsible for applying for, receiving and distributing funds, monitoring subrecipients, and reporting performance measures to the OAA.

Funding and program categories

The webinar summarized how settlement dollars are allocated: 15% to the Commonwealth, 30% to local direct distribution, and 55% to the OAA. The Authority then divides its share into set-asides and programs that include local set-asides, cooperative partnership funds, state agency awards, and OAA operations and program development (as described during the presentation). The OAA also described the gold standard incentive, which can increase locality-eligible OAA funds by 25% for localities that commit their direct distributions to OAA-compliant uses and meet the Authority’s gold-standard requirements.

Cooperative partnerships and matching funds

Cooperative partnerships must include at least two cities or counties in the same Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) region; the application must be submitted by the fiscal agent. Localities may pledge individual distribution and gold standard funds, as well as non‑OAA funds, as matching funds within a cooperative partnership application; partners need not submit separate individual distribution applications to pledge matching funds. The OAA requires a signed cooperative partnership agreement for new partnerships (executed via Adobe e‑signature); renewals may document matches in writing to the fiscal agent.

Application process and common errors

Key tips repeated throughout the webinar: register and confirm portal access early; designate a primary registered user; engage the local finance or budget office to verify expenditures and reserve balances; attend OAA Q&A technical webinars; and attach draft or executed MOUs/contracts for subrecipients when available. The presenters warned of frequent application problems: inconsistent numbers across narrative, objectives, performance measures and budget; incorrect reporting of subrecipient expenditures as awardee expenditures; missing signatures by an authorized local official; and portal errors when attempting to request gold standard funds before completing the gold standard application.

The OAA also said the portal’s estimated‑funds lookup tool will be updated to reflect recent settlements including Kroger payments; it does not yet include Purdue settlement numbers because the Authority waits until settlements are finalized and payouts have begun. The Authority noted localities have five years from the year funds are made available to apply for those dollars under the policy described in the webinar; the presenters said they would follow up by email and in written guidance about partial‑application scenarios where some years’ funds have been applied for and others have not.

Next steps and resources

The OAA will post the slide deck, webinar recording and a guidance document based on webinar feedback to the Abatement Academy page on its website. The presenters encouraged subscribing to the OAA newsletter for official updates and said regional OAA Abatement Resource Coordinators remain the first line of technical assistance. Charlie Linticum said the Authority will provide additional written guidance about signatory authority and other frequent issues.

The webinar closed with an offer to answer questions via the portal Q&A and a reminder to register for future Abatement Academy sessions.