Council discusses using opioid settlement money for co-responder public-safety program

Councilmembers and staff discussed possible uses of Berkley
nnual opioid-settlement receipts and whether those funds could help pay for a co-responder program that pairs social workers with public-safety officers.

City Manager Crystal and Police Chief (name not recorded) confirmed that Berkley has received recurring opioid-settlement distributions (staff said the city has received roughly $25,000 to $30,000 annually to date) and that there are allowable public-health and response-related uses under the settlement terms. City staff reported that neighboring communities — including Madison Heights, Hazel Park, Ferndale, and Royal Oak — jointly fund a co-responder using pooled dollars and that those programs typically cost tens of thousands of dollars per community; staff cited a local contact, Trisha Zazumbo, who works with a regional program.

Chief and staff said the department is interested in exploring a shared co-responder model in which Berkley would partner with adjacent cities to fund a social worker embedded with police responders. Councilmembers asked staff to confirm specific restrictions in settlement agreements and to provide cost estimates and an implementation plan at a future meeting. No formal appropriation was approved during the April 28 work session.