Auditor briefs commissioners on opioid-settlement training, unspent funds and new settlements with tight restrictions

Jolena Hildreth of the auditor's office updated the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 23 about options to use opioid settlement funds, and on new settlements the county has been invited to join.

Hildreth said a law-enforcement and community-engagement training program is available for approximately $6,500 and can accommodate up to 100 participants if the training facility can host that many. She said Andrea (a training coordinator) and county law-enforcement training staff have been working to arrange sessions and that a multi-day offering could increase attendance among shift-based personnel. Hildreth suggested the county could offer seats to other agencies or potentially charge them to attend.

Hildreth told commissioners the county currently has "over a million dollars" in opioid-settlement funds that remain unused and that the county is spending less than about $10,000 a month from the jail budget out of those funds. She said the allowable uses are defined by the settlement's Appendix A, that the state attorney general's office reviews proposed uses and that the county has experienced denials when proposals were deemed insufficiently opioid-specific.

The auditor also said the county has been presented with two additional settlements (identified in the meeting as Purdue and Alvogen) but that the county had not yet received award amounts. Hildreth said one settlement requires a decision by Sept. 30 and the other by Oct. 8 if the county is to opt in.

Why it matters: The county must balance spending settlement money on programs that meet strict, settlement-defined criteria while attempting to deploy funds for prevention, treatment, training and other opioid-related responses. Decisions to join additional settlements commit the county to long-term payment streams and additional administrative tracking.

Commissioners discussed whether to charge other municipalities for training, whether to pursue multi-day sessions to improve attendance, and whether to create county-run programs versus granting money to local partners such as Panhandle Health or city task forces. Hildreth said local public-health partners have limited ability to accept settlement funds if they cannot demonstrate Appendix A-aligned uses, and that the AG's office tends to take a conservative view when reviewing proposals.

No formal opt-in decision for the new settlements was made during the status-update meeting; Hildreth said she would present the matters at the afternoon business meeting for a formal decision.