As nearly $800 million flows to Michigan communities from opioid distributors, some up-north counties are waiting to start spending.
Officials from Cheboygan, Emmet and Otsego counties say they're still in the "information gathering stages" as they form oversight committees and survey populations.
"We first need to know how large or small our problem might be," Emmet County Administrator Dave Boyer said. "We need to get in front of addiction trends and think creatively."
The money comes from opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers who are paying tens of billions of dollars in restitution to settle lawsuits about their role in the overdose epidemic.
Bridge Michigan reported last year that counties, townships and cities will split about $725 million in opioid settlement funds over 18 years, with communities harder hit by the opioid crisis receiving more money per capita.
See a breakdown of how much each county will receive.
Cheboygan County Administrator Jeff Lawson said his county has already received about $500,000 from settlements but that the county commission is working on forming an "opioid task force."
The body would, "provide annual recommendations to advise the Board of Commissioners on strategies and activities for the use of opioid settlement funds."
While the county hasn't decided who will sit on the task force yet, Lawson said it will include officials whose jobs touch the opioid epidemic such as care providers, law enforcement and court staff. Lawson said Cheboygan County could move to create this body by this summer.
Administrators for Emmet and Otsego counties said they intend to form similar task forces.
Emmet County Administrator Dave Boyer said its Opioid Settlement Steering Committee (OSSC) will include representatives from "the county commission, public health, behavioral health, county administration, law enforcement, judiciary, peer support, and community corrections."
"Our goal is to have the committee ready to begin funding in August," Boyer said.
Emmet County took stakeholder engagement a step further by spending $25,000 of its opioid settlement funds to contract with the Health Department of Northwest Michigan for a community needs assessment.
Boyer said it's the only thing Emmet County has spent its settlement dollars on so far.
"Our goal on that was to give the committee, once it's formed some guidelines for where are needs are in the community," Boyer said.
The Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) has a toolkit for municipalities with steps to spend their opioid settlement dollars. Stakeholder engagement, especially with those with lived experience with substance use disorder and people who use drugs, is recommended.
"Local governments sit at the forefront of the crisis and have the greatest ability to impart change," the document says. "MAC is able to provide technical assistance and support to local governments, at no charge, in strategic planning, policy analysis, strategy determination, spending plan development, monitoring and evaluation as well as linkage to resources."
The opioid crisis left its mark, especially in rural communities, but things are improving. According to state data, there were 2,826 overdose deaths recorded in 2023 compared to 2,998 deaths in 2022. The state hasn't finalized data for 2024 yet.
Interlochen Public Radio is continuing to track how our communities are putting opioid settlement dollars to use. Have questions about how it all works? They may be helpful for shaping our coverage. Send an email to iprnews@interlochen.org
