Franklin County authorizes auditor to sign new opioid settlement participation agreement

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors approved a motion authorizing the county auditor to sign a participation agreement for an additional opioid settlement and to manage funds as they are received.
A county official told supervisors this is an additional settlement “to the ones we're currently getting” and said the auditor would handle reporting requirements to state and federal authorities. The official also listed the county's initial uses of opioid-settlement money: training at the hospital and startup funds for a clinic.
Why it matters: settlement money has restricted uses and county officials said the funds already used were narrowly applied to clinical training and clinic start-up costs. The official said restrictions on eligible uses remain in place and that the county has not used funds for broader substance-abuse programs because some uses, such as methamphetamine treatment, are not allowed under the settlement terms.
The board moved and seconded the authorization and approved it by voice vote.
What the county said it will do next: the auditor will sign the participation agreement and will submit required reports at the state and federal level as opioid-settlement funds arrive; the county will continue to apply funds within the settlement’s allowable uses.