Cochise County approves IGA with Willcox for local opioid settlement funds

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors on June 30 approved an intergovernmental agreement between Cochise County and the city of Willcox to disperse Willcox’s opioid settlement funds. The IGA was presented to the board and approved by a 3-0 vote.

Miss Gilman explained Willcox had chosen to opt out of the county’s pooled distribution agreement that other incorporated cities in the county had joined, and that the city’s current balance on the attached table was approximately $75,000 (staff noted the figure from memory during discussion). Under the IGA, Willcox will report how it spends those funds and the county health director remains responsible for reporting expenditures to the Arizona attorney general as required.

A supervisor asked whether the IGA removes the funds from the county’s expenditure limit; staff confirmed those funds will be sent directly to Willcox and not counted against the county’s expenditure limit. No board member requested further changes and the motion carried 3-0.

The agreement formalizes reporting obligations and helps ensure that opioid-settlement dollars are tracked according to state and county requirements; county staff emphasized the IGA’s role in protecting the county’s larger settlement pool from spending-risk associated with misapplied funds.