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Council OKs continued opioid-settlement funding for police navigator and approves detail-tracking MOA with union
Summary
The council authorized use of more than $160,000 in opioid settlement funds to continue an embedded clinician/police navigator with the Providence Center and approved a memorandum of agreement to change the police detail-tracking software rotation rules to preserve the vendor system.
The West Warwick Town Council voted June 2 to authorize payment from opioid-settlement funds to continue funding the police navigator — an embedded clinician assigned to the police department in partnership with the Providence Center — and to approve a memorandum of agreement with the police union to adapt the department’s detail-tracking software.
Chief Lavine described the navigator position as originally funded with American Rescue Plan dollars but expanded to handle both opioid response and broader mental‑health calls. He said the department is seeking permission to use slightly more than $160,000 from opioid‑settlement proceeds to fund the position this year. “We’re very pleased with our association with the Providence Center and the assignment of an embedded clinician,” the chief said.
On a separate personnel-equipment procedural item, councilors authorized a MOA with International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 312 to change how names rotate in the detail‑tracking software (dropping one name per night rather than three) so the town can keep an off‑the‑shelf vendor product instead of paying for a custom rebuild.
Both measures were approved by the council in voice vote; members raised no substantive objection during the meeting.
