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DeKalb board approves roughly $2.6M in opioid-settlement disbursements to public providers, adds Fire Rescue item
Summary
The Board approved an allocation of opioid settlement funds to county and public providers including Claritel Behavioral Health, the Sheriff’s Office and DeKalb Public Health, and — after committee discussion — added a funding line for DeKalb Fire Rescue to buy narcotics inventory-control storage units.
The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on July 8 approved a distribution of opioid-settlement funds to county and public providers and added a specific allocation for DeKalb Fire Rescue equipment after committee review.
The packet listed disbursements to Claritel Behavioral Health, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, and DeKalb Public Health; during the July 8 deliberations staff said an earlier packet total had a formatting error and corrected the record, stating the true disbursement figure for the items before the board included an additional amount that would be added for Fire Rescue. Fire Rescue subsequently requested and received funding for narcotics inventory-control and secure storage systems (the department said the requested $204,000 would purchase approximately 45 secure vehicle storage units for controlled medications on response vehicles).
Speakers in committee and at the meeting discussed geographic targeting and service coverage — several commissioners and staff noted the concentration of overdose incidents in parts of South DeKalb and asked how funds and services overlap geographically. Planning and provider representatives said Claritel and other providers operate regionally and serve DeKalb County residents countywide; staff emphasized that some numbers in the packet were corrected during the hearing and that staff would reconcile final totals before implementation.
The board approved the recommended allocations and the additional Fire Rescue item after discussion; staff noted roughly $2 million of opioid-settlement proceeds remain for later allocations and that grant administration must follow the settlement’s eligible-uses rules.
Because several figures in the packet and the hearing were reported differently in places during the meeting, staff and commissioners acknowledged there were arithmetic and formatting discrepancies in the printed agenda; staff said they would reconcile final totals before funds are disbursed.
