Coffee County commission authorizes attorney to apply for opioid settlement funds

The Coffee County Abatement Funds Disbursement Commission voted Sept. 3, 2025, to authorize the county attorney to submit a participation form to join a secondary manufacturers' opioid settlement, a step commissioners said must be taken before an Oct. 8 submission deadline outlined in an email from the Tennessee Attorney General's Office.

Commissioners said the participation form is required to receive an additional tranche of opioid-abatement money and asked the county attorney to proceed. The motion to authorize the application passed by voice vote with no roll-call tallies recorded in the meeting minutes.

The vote capped a 20-minute discussion about how much money remains in earlier settlement accounts, what new settlement money might look like and how any new funds should be used. Commissioners and staff identified two settlement-related accounts referenced in earlier meetings: an “Edison” account used to fund initial awards and a revenue account associated with BrownGreer (account number referenced as 489191 in meeting discussion). Commissioners asked staff to confirm current balances before committing funds.

Members discussed a specific proposal previously presented by Trish Luna (applicant) to purchase and distribute packaged educational/response materials. Meeting discussion estimated the packets cost roughly $40 each; members said they were open to a small pilot but raised repeated concerns about distribution logistics and oversight. One member said first responders likely would not have the time to distribute packets during their regular duties and warned that materials could end up unused unless an organized distribution partner is identified.

Commissioners directed staff to check account balances with county finance staff (Maryann) and to contact existing partners — including the Tennessee Dangerous Drug Task Force and the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) or Department of Children's Services (DCS) — to determine whether those agencies would accept and reliably distribute any materials. Commissioners discussed using about $5,000 from the Edison account as a limited pilot to test distribution before committing larger sums, but no final reallocation decision was made at the Sept. 3 meeting.

In addition to authorizing the attorney to submit the participation form, the commission approved its agenda and minutes from the June 25, 2025 meeting and scheduled its next meeting for Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m.

The commission recorded no detailed roll-call vote for the settlement-application motion during the meeting; minutes state the motion carried by voice vote. The Tennessee Attorney General's Office provided a template resolution and guidance, and commissioners noted that the full legislative body might need to adopt a resolution depending on procedural requirements in the Attorney General's guidance.