County and city task force proposes $8M opioid spending plan; Tucson council urges faster move on sobering center

Pima County Health Director Teresa Cullen and the Regional Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee (ROSAC) presented a draft plan April 22 for how local opioid settlement dollars would be spent across the city and county. The committee’s recommendation proposes using roughly $8 million in a first funding tranche (one-third of a projected $24–$85 million total settlement pool) to support youth prevention, peer navigation, transitional wrap‑around supports, co‑response for law enforcement, innovation grants, and planning for a sobering center.

Why it matters: Council members and many public speakers stressed immediate community needs — especially the absence of a local sobering center and rising overdose and unsheltered population challenges. Several council members argued the sobering center should be prioritized and receive additional early funding from the pooled settlement dollars. The council voted unanimously to ask ROSAC and the County Board of Supervisors to reconsider their recommended priorities and to return within 30 days with more focus on…