Finance committee reviews opioid-settlement allocation and proposes general fund carryover policy

Councilmember Kevin Reisner reported on a Feb. 20 finance committee meeting during the March 3 Tiffin City Council meeting where members reviewed options for allocating the city’s opioid settlement funds and considered a formal general fund carryover balance policy.

The discussion matters because the council must decide how to use a recurring but declining revenue stream from opioid settlements and how large a reserve the city should keep to cover emergencies and capital needs.

Committee members heard presentations and data from Law Director Zachary Fowler and State Auditor materials. The committee discussed directing a portion of the city’s opioid settlement funds to local service providers. The city’s projected annual share of the opioid settlement fund was reported as about $18,000. Committee notes recorded a proposed contribution of 30% to PIVOT to support DARE programming, with the caveat that settlement distributions will decline over time. Fowler told committee members the overall settlement will last for multiple years and he would prepare draft resolutions based on council intent. "The opioid settlement lasts 18 years," Fowler said during the discussion.

Committee members also discussed a formal policy for the general fund carryover balance. The mayor recommended maintaining a minimum carryover equal to two months of operating revenues (about 16.7%), and also proposed a 25% minimum to provide greater protection against emergencies and unforeseen expenses. Finance Director Kathy Kaufman noted the Government Finance Officers Association’s guidance in support of such policies and provided a spreadsheet showing how different reserve levels affect capital projects and transfers; the committee emphasized that transfers would still require council approval.

On motions, Councilmember Jones moved that the law director prepare legislation for the carryover policy (legislation number referenced as 25-9 in committee notes), and Reisner seconded; the motion "carried unanimously" in committee. The committee also requested draft resolutions or ordinance language concerning opioid fund allocations so the full council can discuss them in a committee of the whole.

Kaufman told members the current unencumbered balance in the opioid fund was $55,000 and that if purchase orders were issued for the full budgeted amount for DARE, the unencumbered balance would fall to about $35,000. The committee heard that no purchase orders for PIVOT had been opened for 2025 at the time of the meeting.

Committee members asked for more detailed budgeting and re-evaluation of DARE funding in future years. Reisner said he would forward committee notes for full-council discussion at a committee-of-the-whole meeting and Fowler said he would draft legislation consistent with the council’s direction.

No final council appropriation or ordinance was adopted at the March 3 council meeting; the council set a committee-of-the-whole meeting for March 17 (later rescheduled to March 10 at 5:15 p.m. per other business) to continue discussion.