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Commission approves FY2027 opioid-abatement awards and opts into amended national settlement
Summary
The board approved FY2027 opioid-abatement awards recommended by the local task force and voted to opt into an amendment to the national opioid settlement that extends eligibility for funds from newly participating pharmaceutical companies, with staff stating the opt-in requires no county budget contribution.
Scott Williams, chief executive officer at Tennova Newport Medical Center and chair of the Cocke County Opioid Abatement Task Force, presented the task force’s recommended FY2027 awards and the board approved the distribution at the April 20 meeting.
Williams said the task force recommended funding the Cocke County Recidivism Reduction Program at $178,000 per year for two years (stated total for 2027–28: $356,000), the Fourth Judicial Public Defender at $66,266.38 for 2027, Recovery Ministries at First United Methodist Church at $3,988 for FY2027, and Cocke County Finance at $50,000 per year for two years ($100,000 total for 2027–28). Williams cautioned that annual available funds will decline over time as one-time settlement payments are exhausted.
Following the awards vote, staff explained recent amendments to the national opioid settlement require separate local opt-in votes when additional pharmaceutical companies join or amend the settlement. Staff said opting in to the amendment presented makes the county eligible for settlement funds from those amended defendants and does not require payments from the county budget. The board voted to opt in to the amendment as presented.
The motions were approved by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript. Williams said the task force will reopen applications if additional funds become available in future cycles.
Next steps: Task force and county finance staff will implement awards and monitor disbursements; staff will publish application windows if future dollars are available.
