Toledo officials hear how opioid settlement funds will be split locally, and region’s grant process

Toledo council members heard an overview Tuesday of how opioid settlement money will be allocated to the city and to Region 4 of the 1Ohio Recovery Foundation, and how the city may use its share for past or future opioid-abatement work.

Councillor Mike Hobbs convened the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee meeting and introduced speakers including Steve Spitler, a senior attorney in the city’s Department of Law General Division; Cara Wall, an attorney who helped negotiate the 1Ohio memorandum of understanding (MOU); Matt Bell, CEO of Team Recovery and chair of Region 4’s board; and Scott Silek, Region 4’s liaison to the state-level 1Ohio Foundation board.

The presentation centered on two distinct pools of settlement money. Spitler said the city has received multiple disbursements and described Toledo’s current balance as “11,279,000 and change with no expenditures to date.” Wall and others explained that, under the 1Ohio MOU, 30% of settlement funds that come into Ohio are allocated to local governments, 55% to the statewide 1Ohio Recovery Foundation (distributed to regions through a grant process), and 15% to the state. Wall said the local-government 30% share may be used retroactively to reimburse past opioid-related expenditures if the spending is tied to an abatement strategy.

Why it matters: the distribution rules determine how quickly and for what purposes money can reach first responders, treatment providers and family supports. Committee members repeatedly pressed for clarity on how fast money could be awarded and how the city would ensure the funds reach people and neighborhoods most affected by…