Commissioners reallocate McKinsey settlement funds to District 2 recovery court operations

Beaufort County health staff told commissioners the county selected "option B" under the state opioid-settlement spending rules, which requires collaborative planning and public input before certain uses are approved. Staff reported correspondence with the Department of Justice and the OSTAT team clarifying which strategies are eligible under the county's plan.

The health director noted that $28,241.57 from the McKinsey settlement had been deposited to the county general fund; those funds were not placed in a restricted opioid fund but must still be used for opioid-related purposes. Staff recommended a budget amendment to appropriate $5,000 of the McKinsey funds to District 2 recovery-court transportation needs (previously funded in FY24-25) and to allocate the remaining $23,002.42 to District 2 recovery-court operations for FY25-26.

"There was a total of $28,241.57 that came out of McKinsey settlement," staff said, and DOJ clarified that recovery courts are a covered strategy only if included in the collaborative plan; otherwise counties can use McKinsey funds in the general fund for opioid-related purposes. A commissioner asked for clarity on when the county learned about the McKinsey funds; staff said the funds were in the fund balance at June 30 and would appear in audit reports.

A motion to approve the proposed budget amendment and allocations was moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Next steps: the budget amendment will be processed and staff will include the allocations in the next fiscal planning and reporting to DOJ as required.