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Fire districts request opioid‑settlement funds for new cardiac monitors; council asks for MOU and resolution
Summary
Four Coventry fire districts requested $282,345 from opioid settlement funds to buy four Stryker LifePak 35 cardiac monitors (one per district). Council instructed staff to draft a resolution and memorandum of understanding and voted to move the request forward for consideration.
Coventry — Chiefs from Coventry’s four fire districts (Central Coventry, Coventry, Hopkins Hill and Western Coventry) asked the Town Council to allocate opioid settlement dollars to replace aging cardiac monitors and defibrillators across the districts.
Hopkins Hill Fire District Chief John Poppin told the council the four districts jointly requested $282,345 from the town’s opioid settlement fund to purchase four Stryker LifePak 35 cardiac monitor/defibrillators (one unit per district). Poppin said the current monitors are at or near the end of their serviceable life and the new monitors are important for responding to potential opioid overdoses and other cardiac emergencies.
Solicitor Angel explained that to use opioid settlement funds for equipment the town must both (1) appropriate the funds by council resolution and (2) enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the recipient fire districts that documents eligible uses and establishes recourse if the funds are not used in accordance with the settlement terms.
Council discussion focused on the fund balance, prior opioid‑fund allocations and whether the requested purchase was the best use of the remaining funds. Finance staff reported a net opioid settlement account balance of approximately $500,000 (with about $385,000 currently in a CD), and reminded councilors some of the settlement funds were already committed to a substance‑use program. Several council members said they did not want to withhold life‑saving equipment from first responders but asked that the MOU include safeguards to address future questions about ownership or disposition of equipment purchased with town funds.
Action: Council voted to direct staff to prepare a draft resolution and MOU to appropriate the requested funds and to include appropriate conditions (for example, terms addressing equipment disposition if a fire district dissolves or sells assets). The motion passed with 6 yes votes and one recusal.
Ending: The council directed staff to prepare the formal legislation (resolution) and a draft MOU for the council to consider at a subsequent meeting; council did not yet appropriate funds on the night of the presentation.
Attribution: Reporting based on remarks by Chief John Poppin and comments from the town solicitor and finance staff.
