PRINCETON — Work is underway on creating an application process for Mercer County entities seeking grants of opioid settlement money that can be spent on addressing addiction recovery and other issues relating to West Virginia’s addiction epidemic.
Mercer County had $2,126,363.71 in its opioid settlement fund as of Friday, according to County Administrator Vicky Reed.
The fund’s money was generated by lawsuits against drug companies that manufactured opioid pain mediations creating West Virginia’s addiction epidemic. Counties and municipalities participating in the lawsuits have been receiving periodic payments.
County Commission President Bill Archer said that these funds can be spent for specific purposes that address issues involving opioid addiction.
“It’s not like, for example, somebody needing funds for an event,” he said. “We have strict regulations that guide us as to how we can use those funds. It’s to address the ills of long-term use of those drugs and the recovery aspect of it.”
So far, the commission has approved opioid grants including one for $44,602 which will let Mercer County 911 expand paging services to volunteer fire departments. Volunteer firefighters now carry Narcan, a medication for treating overdoses. Fire departments are often the first agency to reach a scene when an overdose emergency is reported.
A $300,000 is being used to convert a professional building next to the Mercer County Courthouse into a new headquarters for the sheriff’s department. This new facility recently opened and an open house is being scheduled for a later date. A third grant for $130,000 was awarded to help the Mercer County Health Department to help recruit more physicians.
Commissioner Greg Puckett said a committee is now working on an application process for opioid fund grants.
“We hope to have an application ready at the end of this month, at the beginning of November,” he said. “We have to approve it through the committee and people can apply for funding. The commission has to approve an amount for an application.”
Puckett said the county commission plans to keep $1.5 million of opioid funding banked so it can generate interest.
“If we do this right, that interest will accrue over the years,” he said. “If we spend all the money up front, it’s gone forever and we’ll never be able to use that money well.”
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