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Park County has received just under $1 million in revenue from being a part of nationwide opioid settlement cases and, Tuesday, commissioners agreed to sign onto two more.
While a …
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Park County has received just under $1 million in revenue from being a part of nationwide opioid settlement cases and, Tuesday, commissioners agreed to sign onto two more.
While a committee set up to manage the funds has so far spent roughly 10% of those funds, County Attorney Bryan Skoric advised the board not to rush to spend too much of the current balance.
“This all was a result of over prescribing opiates in the past, and effects they’ve had on populations throughout the United States and elsewhere,” he said. “So with the fentanyl crisis going on nationwide, you know, I’ve always said that, thankfully it’s not hit here yet. Hopefully it never gets here, but … it’s going to be very costly if it does, and so we shouldn’t be in a rush to just spend through those funds.”
He said while other counties have indeed spent through much of what they’ve received (and some have questioned why Park County hasn’t spent more), Skoric approves of the slow pace.
The local committee spent $67,000 by the end of the last fiscal year ending June 30, and has since approved another round of paying for more drug court patients and has spent roughly $40,000 on a new counseling program.
Park County Commission Chair Dossie Overfield said the committee doesn’t meet regularly, instead it meets whenever someone reaches out to request funds. The committee members represent groups across the county including Healthy Park County, the county commissioners, sheriff’s office, city of Cody, Cody Police Department, Powell Police Department, county attorney and drug court.
The committee was formed following a 2023 work session with stakeholders and commissioners to prepare to use the funds.
Skoric said the use of the funds has remained quite consistent and centers around reducing the effects of addiction. He said he’s found no expiration date for the use of the funds.
The new funds will release billions of dollars nationwide, with one involving Purdue Pharma and the owners, the Sackler family, and the other a group of secondary suppliers.
