Washington County committee approves multiple 2026 budget carryforwards including $645,754 opioid settlement and JEWL funds
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Summary
The Public Safety Committee voted to amend the 2026 budget to accept several state grants and settlement funds — including $645,754 in opioid abatement and $157,437 from a JEWL/JUUL settlement — and moved other items to finance for processing.
Washington County’s Public Safety Committee on a voice vote approved a series of budget amendments to bring several state grants and settlement payments into the 2026 county budget.
Rob York, director of community services, asked the committee to pass a resolution to carry forward $645,754 in regional opioid abatement settlement funds into the 2026 budget. "My first item is a resolution request to amend the 2026 Washington County budget. This is to carry forward some unexpected opioid settlement regional abatement funds, and this is in the amount of $645,754," York said. The committee approved the measure by voice vote.
The committee also approved financial carryforwards and acceptance requests for smaller, program-specific grants and state aid: $50,006.57 from the New York State Office of Children’s Services and Supports designated for outpatient services; state aid from the New York State Office of Mental Health tied to assisted outpatient treatment (state aid code referenced during the meeting); an $11,500 child passenger safety grant and a $5,669 early intervention administration grant to be carried into 2026; and a request to add JEWL/JUUL settlement money to the public health budget.
Public health director Tina McDougall said the county’s JEWL/JUUL award totals $419,833 through 2030, with $157,437 received so far and an expected additional $52,479 in mid-2026. She told the committee the JEWL/JUUL funds are "100% restricted" to evidence-based public-health programs to prevent youth vaping. The committee voted to add the received funds to the 2026 budget and move the resolution to finance.
Several budget items were sent to the finance committee for technical review; one late OCFS bill related to a juvenile placement (discussed elsewhere on the agenda) will be handled as a separate budget amendment and was routed to finance. Most motions passed by voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in the committee transcript.
Votes at a glance
- Carry forward $645,754 — opioid settlement regional abatement funds: motion approved by voice vote. - Accept $50,006.57 — NYS Office of Children’s Services and Supports (outpatient pass-through): approved. - Accept state aid (OMH) — code referenced for assisted outpatient treatment: approved. - Carry forward $11,500 — child passenger safety grant: approved. - Carry forward $5,669 — early intervention administration grant: approved. - Add $157,437 (to date) — JEWL/JUUL settlement funds to public health budget (restricted to vaping prevention): approved.
What’s next: Several items require finance office coding and drafting of formal resolutions. Staff committed to providing backup financial reports when needed; the JEWL/JUUL funds will be restricted in use and subject to program criteria.
