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41 <br /> 1 BACKGROUND: In July 2021, a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general announced the <br /> 2 National Opioid Settlement — a historic $26 billion agreement that will help bring desperately <br /> 3 needed help to communities harmed by the opioid epidemic. The State of North Carolina and all <br /> 4 100 counties, including Orange County, joined the agreement. Orange County is expected to <br /> 5 receive $6,799,780 over an 18-year period. <br /> 6 <br /> 7 In September 2022, the BOCC approved the appointment of the Orange County Opioid Advisory <br /> 8 Committee with the following charge: <br /> 9 • Discuss opioid-related health concerns and issues impacting the residents of Orange <br /> 10 County; <br /> 11 • Advise the Board of Commissioners on options to expend funds to prevent opioid abuse <br /> 12 and remedy opioid impacts; <br /> 13 • Plan and host an annual meeting open to the public to receive input on proposed uses of <br /> 14 the settlement funds and to encourage collaboration between local governments. <br /> 15 <br /> 16 The Board also voted in support of Option A for the use of the settlement funds per the NC <br /> 17 Memorandum of Agreement Opioid Settlement. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 In January 2023, Orange County received an additional payment of $44,629 from the National <br /> 20 Opioid Abatement Trust II (NOAT II). NOAT II is separate and distinct from the National <br /> 21 Distributors/Janssen settlements. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 The Opioid Advisory Committee met on March 21, 2023 and heard proposals from Community <br /> 24 Partners and County Staff who shared proposals/requests for consideration to use Opioid <br /> 25 Settlement Funds to continue program funding. These Partners included: <br /> 26 • The Lantern Project ($164,862) <br /> 27 • Freedom House ($122,188) <br /> 28 • NC FIT Program ($70,000) <br /> 29 <br /> 30 All these efforts are currently funded via grants through June 30, 2023. Partners shared impact <br /> 31 data to show how these programs are helping community members experiencing substance use <br /> 32 disorder. The Committee unanimously voted to approve these funding requests for a two-year <br /> 33 period with a 5% increase in the second year to account for inflation and nominal salary increases. <br /> 34 In addition to funding for the aforementioned programs, the group requested $14,500 to order <br /> 35 additional Narcan/naloxone and fentanyl strips for the community vending machines. <br /> 36 <br /> 37 These four programs are authorized with the signing of the attached MOA Spending Authorization <br /> 38 Resolution, which also authorizes Budget Amendment #8-A for the County. This approves the <br /> 39 authorization of the new Opioid Settlement Fund, and creates the following grant ordinance for <br /> 40 the fund: <br /> Opioid Settlement Fund($881,554) - Fund # 27 <br /> Revenues for this project: <br /> Current FY 2022-23 FY 2022-23 <br /> FY 2022-23 Amendment Revised <br /> Opioid Settlement Funds $0 $881,554 $881,554 <br /> Total Project Funding $0 $881,554 $881,554 <br /> Appropriated for this project: <br />