Cowlitz County weighs options for $2.7 million in opioid-settlement funds; next steps could include committee, RFP or targeted projects

Cowlitz County Health and Human Services briefed the Board on opioid-settlement revenue the county has received, the allowable uses spelled out in the 1 Washington memorandum of understanding and options for allocating the funds locally.

Gina James, director of Health and Human Services, told commissioners the county has received just over $2.7 million in settlement revenue through May and has spent a little more than $30,000 to date. “So far, as of through May, we've received revenue of a little over $2,700,000,” James said. She also said one settlement in the state provides an estimated annual payment of about $400,000 that tapers to about $200,000 and continues for roughly 15–17 years, and that total anticipated payouts shown in county materials amount to roughly $7 million over time.

James reviewed the memorandum of understanding’s structure: it lists core strategies…