Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Opioid Settlement Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dane County subcommittee tables 2025 opioid settlement budget recommendations; staff to continue drafting
Summary
The Health and Human Needs Committee opioid settlement subcommittee on June 23 discussed a drafted set of 2025 budget recommendations for opioid-settlement spending and voted to table the matter for further work at a July 7 meeting. The committee also approved minutes from the June 9 meeting.
Dane County’s Health and Human Needs Committee opioid settlement subcommittee on June 23 reviewed a draft set of recommendations for allocating opioid-settlement funds in 2025 and voted to table the recommendations for further revision and public posting before returning on July 7.
The committee’s draft recommendations propose establishing an application-based approach to distribute spending under Exhibit E of the opioid settlement guidance, creating staff support to manage the process, and considering a short-term rapid-response grant program for immediate community needs. The subcommittee discussed details including whether the staff position should be centralized (for example, under Administration) and how frequently applications should be accepted.
Minutes approval and formal action Supervisor Todd Campbell moved approval of the minutes of the committee’s June 9 meeting; Joseph Gailey seconded. The motion was recorded as unanimously approved.
On the budget recommendations, Supervisor Heidi Wagner moved approval of the recommendation document; Jenny Lee seconded, and discussion followed about staff capacity, centralization, rolling or quarterly application processes, maximum award sizes and whether the RFP process detail should remain in the draft recommendation. After debate, the body voted to table the item to the July 7 meeting to allow committee members and staff to refine language and post documents for public engagement.
Why this matters: The recommendations would guide how Dane County spends opioid-settlement funds in 2025, including staffing to manage grants and contracts and a possible immediate-needs grant program. Committee members emphasized that a staff position will likely be needed to manage applications and contracts and suggested placing that position in a centralized location given funding and program responsibilities across multiple departments.
Key clarifications and next steps Committee members and staff identified several follow-up items: post the draft recommendation and supporting documents to provide public notice and solicit feedback before the July 7 meeting; refine language about the RFP/contracting process so it aligns with county purchasing regulations; and determine whether the staff position should be full-time or part-time and where it should be administratively placed (public health, administration, or executive branch).
The subcommittee will reconvene July 7 for further consideration; the Health and Human Needs (HHN) committee meeting is scheduled for July 24.
