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Council amends opioid-settlement and CDBG budgets to fund prevention programs and a used ladder truck
Summary
The Woonsocket City Council amended a prior opioid-settlement appropriation to let the school department use residual funds for prevention programs and approved a CDBG amendment to let the fire department buy a used ladder truck.
The Woonsocket City Council on Monday approved two amendments reallocating previously appropriated funds.
The council amended ordinance 24 O 63 (now 25 O 37) to permit the Woonsocket School Department to use residual opioid-settlement funds for additional prevention initiatives, including curricula and programs the district identified. Council members said the change allows the district to stretch existing settlement funds to cover family-life skills prevention, American Lung Association programs and related efforts without seeking new city dollars.
The council also amended the city's adopted CDBG HUD annual budget to permit the Woonsocket Fire Department to use Community Development Block Grant funds to purchase a used ladder truck from the Watertown, Connecticut Fire Department (25 O 38). Council members said such a purchase is substantially less costly than a new truck and that the fire department completed required inspections and approvals for the proposed procurement.
Votes: Both amendments passed unanimously, 6-0.
Why it matters: The opioid-settlement realignment allows prevention programming in schools to proceed using already-allocated funds; the CDBG amendment provides a funding source for critical fire apparatus without tapping the general fund.
Next steps: The school department will proceed with approved prevention purchases and training; the fire department will finalize the used ladder-truck acquisition subject to procurement and inspection processes.
