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Councilor advances $1.8M opioid settlement allocation to fund behavioral-health RFP
Summary
Councilor Arnold moved to appropriate $1.8 million in opioid-settlement funds and send the measure to finance so the city can issue an RFP for a behavioral‑health services provider; staff and legal said appropriating funds first would guide RFP design and procurement.
Councilor Arnold moved the committee recommend a budget adjustment of $1,800,000 from opioid‑settlement funds to support a community behavioral‑health services initiative and to refer the request to the finance committee so staff can issue a request for proposals (RFP).
“I believe that healthy minds create a healthy community,” Councilor Arnold said, urging colleagues to approve a one‑time investment that she said is designed to connect multiple behavioral‑health services through a single contracted provider. She said the proposal is a one‑time appropriation intended to allow the city to solicit proposals from organizations that already have program blueprints.
Other councilors pressed for budget detail and transparency, asking for ballpark figures and how the requested $1.8 million would be distributed among facilities, staffing and programming. City staff and legal advisers responded that appropriating a defined amount would give procurement staff the direction needed to craft an effective RFP, and noted procurement thresholds and restrictions tied to opioid/ODR funds that limit how some money may be spent.
Staff said the city would remain the fiscal agent and that the RFP could incorporate procurement language used by Eddy County’s existing program to avoid reinventing an established model. The motion was seconded and the committee voted to move the measure to finance for further review.
Next steps: the item will be considered by the finance committee, which the councilors said would review cost details, procurement plans and any ramp‑up schedules before the council approves contracts.
