After years of delays commissioners pause on hiring a coordinator for the $25 million Opioid Settlement Funds
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners decided to hold off on hiring a coordinator to oversee the $25 million in opioid settlement funds that the county is allotted to receive.
During their meeting on Monday, commissioner Fred McClure, who is chairman of the Davidson County Opioid Settlement Fund Committee, explained the committee has explored a variety of projects, but no progress has been made and very little funds spent. As a result, the group voted during its meeting last week to request hiring a coordinator to help organize and prepare suggestions on how to use opioid settlement funds.
“We have had a whole bunch of people come in and make presentations about (different) ideas. We can’t continue to do what we’re doing and get no results. We want a coordinator to go through all the ideas and make recommendations to the (committee) about what they want to get done,” said McClure.
Davidson County is slated to receive $25.6 million over the next 13 years in opioid settlement funds.
Currently the county has been paid $6.9 million in opioid settlement funds and is slated to receive another $1.9 million in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. These settlement funds are part of the $56 billion North Carolina received from the national opioid settlement lawsuit in 2021.
The county will also receive an additional $2.3 million from a recent state settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family.
The Davidson County Opioid Settlement fund will be approximately $12 million in 2025-2026 fiscal year, which has mostly not been used. Last year, the county approved $1.2 million toward the Medically Assisted Treatment program at the Davidson County Jail.
Last week, several opioid settlement committee members vented frustration on the lack of progress, stating they have met for several years and have yet to come up with a clear plan on how to spend these funds. They voted to request approval from the county commissioners to hire a coordinator to oversee the program.
But during their meeting on Monday, several county commissioners questioned whether it would be better to hire a consultant, as a contract employee, rather than create a job position of coordinator.
“I don’t know if there is a consultant or some professional that could look at all this,” said Commissioner Todd Yates. “A consultant can be the same thing as a coordinator.”
Commissioner Karen Watford said there needs to be a clear idea of what this person is supposed to do and was hesitant to hire a coordinator without a set job description.
“I’m not sure that we are at a place where we are sure what we would like a coordinator to do. That’s what worries me,” said Watford.
Several of the commissioners had different suggestions on the use of the opioid settlement funds, but we’re reminded that the state has strict regulations on how the money can be allocated.
Commissioner Chris Elliott asked why the county can’t increase support for prevention programs run through the sheriff’s department targeting school aged children. Others asked about hiring more law enforcement or support for non-profit organizations that combat addiction. Davidson County Manager Casey Smith explained settlement funds can only be used specifically for addressing opioid addiction, which excludes staffing for law enforcement.
McClure reiterated that these are some of the same ideas that members of the opioid committee, which includes representatives from the health department, social services, the district attorney, law enforcement and other community partners who deal with addiction, have discussed. But he said there needs to be a point-person who can gather these ideas, research their feasibility and bring concise proposals to the committee to vote on.
In the end, the commissioners requested the county manager to research consultants with expertise in use of opioid settlement funds to be presented at the board of commissioner’s informational meeting in August.
“Consultant or coordinator, it makes no difference,” said Commissioner Steve Shell. “If we have someone that has the expertise to sort of steer us then we might be able to benefit. We have sat still for too long, and I think there are things that we can do, and I want to do them the right way.”
