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Committee accepts opioid settlement subcommittee report; funds and needs assessment recommended
Summary
The committee accepted the opioid settlement subcommittee's recommendations to annualize settlement-funded programs to 2027, allocate up to $10,000 for a countywide needs assessment, reduce certain Public Health FTEs from 3 to 1 with savings reallocated to syringe services, and defer contracting for a drop-in center pending the needs assessment; members added language to explicitly include related harm reduction services.
The Health and Human Needs Committee accepted the opioid settlement subcommittee's recommendations and the report was received with one minor amendment to broaden language on harm reduction. The subcommittee recommended annualizing current settlement-funded programs through 2027 to avoid service disruption, allocating up to $10,000 to complete a needs assessment led by Felicia (Behnke/Binky) Shaw, and reducing three Public Health Madison & Dane County FTEs to one while re‑directing savings to syringe services and harm‑reduction programming.
Felicia Behnke/Shaw, who outlined the proposed year‑long needs assessment, said it would pair community voices (surveys and focus groups) with the public health overdose fatality review and system mapping to identify gaps, including the needs of people who are unhoused. Committee leadership also recommended deferring contracting for a proposed drop‑in/harm‑reduction center until the assessment is complete. The motion to accept the subcommittee recommendations (with the added phrasing "and related harm reduction services") passed with no objection.
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