Minutes-04-18-2023-Business Meeting

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