Advisory committee presses for invoices after large share of opioid settlement money went to county jail

The Penobscot County Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Committee pressed county staff on May 19 for clearer accounting after members said a large portion of recent settlement spending flowed to the county jail. The committee, meeting by videoconference, discussed whether jail allocations are automatic or discretionary and how the group should track use of funds.

The chair opened the discussion by noting the meeting’s purpose and that the committee needed better clarity on how settlement dollars are being reported. A staff member told the committee the jail spent about $161,000 in 2025 and that earlier spending had been about $380,000 in a prior year. Committee members said that represented roughly 60–75% of annual funds in recent years and called for more transparent reporting.

“Could we make a policy recommendation that…we flip this and this is a reimbursement base basis up to a $100,000,” the chair proposed, arguing the county should see receipts before money is disbursed. Committee members recommended quarterly invoices showing line-item spending and quarterly reimbursement rather than upfront allocations to the jail, noting the jail is a county subdivision rather than an external grantee.

Members also raised concerns about what the jail’s settlement spending actually covered. A committee member summarized that “99%” of invoices appear to be for medication and named providers the committee has tracked: Discovery House as the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) provider, 1 Step Detect for drug testing kits, and Bangor Drug for medication and naloxone, information staff said they were working to verify.

Several members cautioned that some medications, notably methadone, are billed as a bundled cost that includes counseling, yet counseling services may not be paid from the settlement dollars. “If 95% of the funds went specifically to prescriptions,” one member said, “then they’re actually not supporting drug testing kits and naloxone, which should be distributed…before they leave the facility.”

The committee agreed to seek more detailed invoices from the jail, explore a reimbursement approach with quarterly documentation, and add clearer earmarking and reporting language to the committee’s policy documents so future disbursements match the committee’s oversight expectations. The discussion was paused for time and to allow the meeting to move to other agenda items; members planned follow-up work and interim meetings to complete policy revisions.