Agenda - 10-15-2024; 8-a - Minutes

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34 1 Commissioner Hamilton said she would like to have an analysis from the experts about 2 what is safe in terms of a one-story or two-story facility. 3 Commissioner Fowler said she was asking about why it had changed. 4 Commissioner Richards said this is an important opportunity to get it right. She said she 5 hopes the facility won't be force fitted to this site. She said that was why she asked how many 6 sites were included. 7 Robin Washco of CPL said if there are multiple sites being analyzed, they determine the 8 pros and cons of each site. 9 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the county has to pay additional money if the two 10 sites fall through. 11 Alan Dorman said there would be an additional expense if they have to find another site 12 outside of the two currently being considered. He said there aren't that many large sites close to 13 Hillsborough that could be used for this purpose. 14 15 A motion was made by Commissioner Hamilton, seconded by Vice-Chair Greene, to 16 approve the contract with CPL and authorize the Chair to sign it after final review by the County 17 Attorney. 18 19 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 20 21 b. Opioid Settlement Funding Discussion 22 The Board reviewed the cashflow analysis of the Opioid Settlement Funds by County staff, 23 discussed different strategies for spending these funds, and provided direction to staff and the 24 Opioid Advisory Committee. 25 BACKGROUND: The County is a recipient of the NC Opioid Settlement Funds and will receive 26 $12,296,286 over the course of eighteen (18)years. The structure of these funds is unique based 27 on the specific repayment plans in each defendant's settlement (See Attachment 2). Because of 28 the unique frontloaded structure, the County is faced with two distinct facts that it must balance 29 over the coming fiscal years. 30 31 The first is that the County has a significant reserve of funds on hand, $2.3 million, that could be 32 allocated directly to nonprofit agencies or to County programs that provide high impact opioid 33 abatement services this fiscal year. The second is that as settlement payments decline in future 34 years, the Settlement Fund will not be able to sustain the five (5) existing County programs. By 35 the last three (3) years of the Opioid Settlement Fund, FY 2036-39, the cost of the five (5) 36 programs would exceed new annual payments by over$1 million. Therefore, the County will need 37 to have a general plan to either end those five (5) programs (See Attachment 1)or transition those 38 programs into the General Fund. Those programs currently support seven (7) time-limited 39 positions. Based on the realities of this funding trend, County staff recommends removing the 40 County programming from the Opioid Advisory Committee's awards. The County programs would 41 be reviewed annually based on performance during the annual budget process. 42 43 The exact timing of this transition or termination of programs would be determined by the 44 allocation of funds for other initiatives. These could represent funding allocated to nonprofit 45 organizations or to provide annual support for the operating subsidy of the new Behavioral Health 46 Crisis Diversion Facility. Once completed, the Crisis Diversion Facility will require an estimated 47 $2.8 million annual County tax supported subsidy based on current assumptions. The County 48 can use Opioid Funds to offset some of that subsidy. In addition, the annual community meeting 49 identified the Recovery Housing Support as the most critical need. The County could pursue this 50 type of resource in partnership with Alliance Health using Opioid Settlement Funds.