County undecided on slow-to-come drug settlement money use
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ALPENA -- Opioid lawsuit settlement money included in the proposed 2023 Alpena County budget could fund a new officer on the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team, but that decision awaits the arrival of the money and the input of those already fighting the repercussions of the opioid epidemic.
A line item on the tentative budget -- approved by the Alpena County Commissioners and awaiting adoption later this month -- lists $60,000 expected to arrive via the Michigan Attorney General's Office sometime in 2023 as part of a settlement by Johnson and Johnson and the country's three largest pharmaceutical distributors.
The companies agreed to pay a combined $26 billion in compensation for their roles in pushing addictive drugs into the consumer marketplace.
Michigan counties get a piece of that pie -- including $1.1 million estimated to land in Alpena County's lap -- but payments promised as early as last April have not yet reached the municipalities expecting to get them.
The Attorney General's Office did not respond to a request for clarification on the status of the payments, but local officials say their lawyers have reported that one Michigan county challenged the amount allotted in the settlement, stalling payments for all counties.
The initial settlement agreement included terms that counties would receive payments over an 18-year period, in amounts that could vary from year to year. Local officials do not yet know how the delay will impact the amount the county receives in its first year, said Mary Catherine Hannah, Alpena County administrator.
The county budgeted $60,000 as expected income from the settlement, but the actual amount received -- if, in fact, the money arrives in 2023 -- could be much higher, Hannah said.
In August, commissioners said they would seek the input of people locally involved in addiction recovery and prevention before deciding how to spend the settlement money. They will adhere to that promise, or at least that is the current plan, said Commissioner Bill Peterson.
The settlement money comes with a requirement that the funds be used to combat the impact of the opioid epidemic, although counties will not have to prove how they used the money, according to the Michigan Association of Counties.
The proposed budget on public display in the Alpena County Treasurer's Office, available until about Dec. 10, includes an expected expense of $60,000 for a HUNT officer, an item not included in last year's budget.
The commissioners did discuss using opioid settlement to fund the officer, upon the suggestion of Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith, but they never voted to make that official, Peterson said.
The HUNT position will be funded whether or not Alpena County gets the settlement money in 2023 and whether or not the commissioners, upon advice from members of the community, decide to use the money to fund the position, Hannah said.
The county has funded a HUNT officer in the past and also contributes $8,000 annually toward HUNT, made up of officers from multiple police agencies who work undercover with a focus on stopping the flow of illegal narcotics into Northeast Michigan.
Last year, low staffing at the Alpena County Sheriff's Office contributed to the county not supplying an officer to HUNT. The line item's absence from the 2022 budget did not indicate the county did not intend to continue funding an officer, Hannah said.
Smith recommended the settlement money as a possible source for paying for the HUNT officer when commissioners were reviewing the cost of funding the Sheriff's Office while facing a $1.5 million projected budget deficit, he said.
While his office's staffing numbers have recovered, the HUNT officer will be a new hire, but he won't fill that position until he gets permission from the commissioners, Smith said.
Law enforcement constitutes only one of many avenues for fighting the impact of the opioid epidemic. It has to remain part of the equation, however, because the illegal drug trade "comes into our community and wreaks havoc. We have to fight it," Smith said.
Addiction fuels a vast percentage of the crimes that land people in the courtroom and in jail, contributing to larcenies, assaults, break-ins, and other unlawful conduct that hurts the community, he said.
Combatting the addiction that drives the drug trade could slow the flow of drugs northward, but "it won't stop unless you cut the head off the snake," he said.
All the same, Smith said, fighting drug crime and drug harm requires a multi-pronged approach, including education and rehabilitation.
Advocates fighting addiction in Alpena agree. Multiple agencies have suggested the settlement money be used to reconfigure Alpena's drug court, provide addiction recovery housing, up the number of peer recovery coaches in the community, or bolster drug education in schools.
Others say the money could secure transportation for people needing drug addiction treatment only available elsewhere, strengthen jail programs, or provide recovery-specific medical care.
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Counties hoping to have the most impact with their settlement dollars should first, and most importantly, listen to the experts in the community already doing the work of addressing substance use disorders and drug crime, said Amy Dolinky, of the Michigan Association of Counties.
The association last month appointed Dolinky as a technical advisor for counties awaiting settlements. So far, only two counties -- neither of them Alpena County -- have asked for that help, Dolinky said.
While the annual allotments may not amount to large windfalls in many counties, the combined efforts of every county intentionally using those dollars can make a significant impact, and, with the settlements spread over time, government leaders can keep tackling drug problems in their communities for the next 18 years, she said.
The impact of the opioid epidemic -- including 22 deaths in Northeast Michigan between 2016 and 2020, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services -- won't quickly dissipate, but the settlement money offers opportunity for change, and, "Counties are on the front line of creating that change," Dolinky said.
In Alcona County, also waiting for its settlement money, several commissioners have already gathered key players in the drug-fighting community, including police, emergency medical responders, court representatives, school representatives, and health officials, asking for input on how their expected $290,000 could best combat drug harm.
Compared to other expenditures, the settlement money may seem inconsequential, Alcona County Councilwoman Carolyn Brummund acknowledged.
Still, the county's allotment of the settlement "is not to be scoffed," she said. "This is not about spending the dollars. This is about spending the dollars wisely."
Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.
Expected settlement funds
Expected opioid settlement lawsuit payments, to be distributed to counties over 18 years, as of July. The Michigan Association of Counties emphasizes that these numbers are estimates and could change.
Alpena County: $1,099,999
Presque Isle County: $504,199
Montmorency County: $304,976
Alcona County: $289,131
Northeast Michigan: $2,197,305
Source: Michigan Association of Counties
To view the Michigan Association of Counties Opioid Settlement Resource Center, providing counties with data and other resources to guide their decision-making, visit micounties.org/opioid-settlement-resource-center.