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Davis County schedules meeting to allocate opioid-settlement funds after staff reports $17 million award
Summary
County staff told the budget committee $17 million in opioid-settlement awards have been allocated to the county (not yet paid) and proposed a 20-year approach that would yield about $850,000 per year for ongoing programs; members scheduled a follow-up meeting to set priorities and avoid unsustainable recurring commitments.
An unidentified committee member told the Davis County Budget Committee that $17,000,000 has been awarded to the county from opioid settlements but not yet disbursed. "Currently, $17,000,000 has been awarded, although not yet paid to the county," the committee member said as staff outlined planning considerations.
Staff and committee members discussed allowable uses and past subcommittee work. Brandon Hatch and other presenters noted some prior planning had been done but that settlement funds have not yet been widely deployed in the county. Hatch and Westergaard said county allocations must adhere to settlement terms and cautioned against creating ongoing programs with high recurring costs that outlast the settlement receipts.
The presenters sketched a 20-year planning example: dividing the announced $17,000,000 over 20 years would yield roughly $850,000 annually for ongoing expenses, with additional one-time start-up costs set aside. Speakers advised that any decision should avoid placing large recurring staffing or program obligations on the settlement that could require cuts if receipts decline; one presenter summarized that spending plans should not "put a whole bunch of ongoing costs on that and then run out of money in 7 or 8 years" (paraphrased from meeting remarks).
Participants also discussed specific program areas likely to receive settlement support if allowed by the settlement terms, including jail-based medication-assisted treatment, pretrial-release services, and supplemental support for drug-court treatment that currently lacks sufficient passthrough funding. Westergaard noted the county previously received some opioid-settlement allocations for prevention and for work with the sheriff's office; he said Davis Behavioral Health can request up to $100,000 from a portion of settlement funding referenced in the meeting record but that overall county allocations are constrained by settlement terms and state rules.
The committee scheduled an opioid-settlement planning discussion a week after the meeting, inviting the sheriff's office, public defenders and the county attorney's office to attend. No formal allocation decisions were made at this session; the follow-up meeting will be used to set priorities, clarify allowable uses under the settlement agreement, and determine which programs (if any) receive ongoing settlement support.
