County task force proposes $953,000 annual opioid settlement budget, grants program and investment plan

Deputy Administrator Smith, reporting as staff liaison to the opioid settlement fund task force, presented the task force’s final report and recommended a structured three‑year approach that would draw roughly $947,800–$953,076 per year from known settlement payments to fund treatment, prevention, harm reduction and recovery supports.

The plan would allocate funding by category (50% treatment, 20% prevention, 20% harm reduction, 10% recovery), set up a community grant program with both one‑ and multi‑year award cycles, and direct the county treasurer to invest settlement dollars so that interest would be returned to the opioid fund. The task force also proposed two options to manage grants administration: hire a full‑time county position (estimated about $100,000 including fringes and $10,000 operational costs) or contract with an outside organization (allowable administrative spending estimated at about 7.5%–15% of program dollars under the settlement terms).

"They were present. They showed up. They did the hard work, and they have put together this report," Deputy…