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Weirton council allocates $120,601 in opioid settlement funds to HIDTA despite public objection
Summary
The council voted 7–0 to authorize $120,601 in WV opioid settlement funds to the Hancock‑Brooke‑Weirton HIDTA Drug Task Force for five years of cell‑phone extraction software and support; a public commenter urged spending on treatment instead of surveillance.
The Weirton City Council voted on Feb. 9 to authorize the City Manager to allocate $120,601.00 in West Virginia opioid settlement funds to the Hancock‑Brooke‑Weirton HIDTA Drug Task Force to purchase five years of cell‑phone extraction software and related support for drug and overdose investigations.
The motion to approve the allocation was made by Councilman Rick Stead and recorded in the minutes as approved 7–0.
During public comment before the vote, resident Benjamin Luke urged the council not to spend opioid settlement funds on surveillance technology and argued the money should be used for treatment, care and crisis response for people with addictions. The minutes record his remark that he was “in opposition of spending opioid funds on surveillance technology instead of tools to fund treatment, care, crisis response, etc. for addictions.”
Other commenters raised concerns about water system oversight and the municipal service fee increase, but the opioid allocation item proceeded to approval without a recorded council rebuttal to the treatment‑versus‑interdiction argument.
The minutes do not specify procurement or vendor details for the software purchase; the City Manager and police department are listed as the responsible parties to coordinate the transfer of funds and procurement steps as part of implementation.
