Council advances spending priorities for millions in opioid settlement money

During its April 21st Work Session, Lexington's Urban County Council reviewed Mayor Linda Gorton's spending plan for millions of dollars in national opioid settlement money and made some tweaks of its own.

For context, Lexington currently has about $9 million of the money on hand, with the first payment received in December 2022. It comes from opioid manufacturers and distributors, who are paying billions of dollars to state and local governments to resolve ongoing lawsuits across the country.

Lexington expects an estimated total of $30 million over 18 years from the ongoing litigation, and because the money can only be spent on opioid abatement, the city needs a spending plan for what it already has.

After hearing the Mayor's proposal and a lengthy discussion during the April 21st Work Session, Council agreed to set aside $3 million for a community grant program and $2.2 million for forthcoming recommendations from the city's Homelessness Task Force.

It left the remaining $3,800,000 untouched – for now.

Here's a deeper look at what spending priorities the Mayor's administration outlined April 21st, along with more details about Council's priorities for the money and what's next in the process.

How does the Mayor want to spend the money?

At a previous meeting, Gorton presented some broad priorities for the money to Councilmembers, who pressed for specifics on spending amounts.

They also raised questions about public input in developing the priorities, Council oversight of the money, and just how quickly it can get out the door to people who need it.

A commission convened by the mayor met monthly for two years to develop recommendations for spending opioid settlement money. The recommendations were submitted to Mayor Gorton for her review.

During its April 21st Work Session, Commissioner of Social Services Kacy Allen-Bryant returned to Council and presented the following spending recommendations from the Mayor for the initial $9 million the city has received:

1. Place $3 million of the money into an interest-bearing account. The interest would be used to finance future grant programs or other opioid-related efforts down the road. Additionally, it proposed that 25% of every future allocation would go into the account.
2. Use $2.2 million for supportive housing and integrated treatment services. The money would be set aside for recommendations from the Mayor's Homelessness Task Force, which is expected to finalize those in the coming months. It would have to be used on opioid abatement, including supportive housing and treatment services for those with opioid use disorder.
3. Direct $2 million for a tiered grant program for nonprofit organizations. Under the Mayor's proposal, the program will be tiered with micro grants up to $75,000 and macro grants between $75,000 and $250,000. The grant program will be targeted at nonprofits offering evidence-based opioid prevention, treatment, recovery, and support services. During the meeting, Commissioner Allen-Bryant said her goal is to begin accepting proposals at the start of the new fiscal year in July. For now, it will be a one-time program. "We'll reevaluate every year to see where we are. There is no guarantee," Allen-Bryant said.

Where did Council land on the Mayor's spending priorities?

The presentation sparked a lengthy discussion among Councilmembers.

Some Councilmembers were divided between the competing goals of mobilizing the money quickly and making the program sustainable in the long-term, given the city doesn't have an exact timeline for payments. Despite that, Council did agree to some priorities for the money.

What Council did:

• Increase the money for the community grants program to $3 million.
• Reserve $2.2 million to address substance use disorder among Lexington's unhoused population. Specifically, the money would be set aside for the Homelessness Task Force's forthcoming recommendations.
• Council left the remaining $3,800,000 untouched for the time being. Council could map out priorities for this money during a future discussion.

What's next?

The Mayor's administration will bring back some budget amendments for Council to consider during next week's Work Session. That could spur additional discussion. Council can approve the amendments, change them again, or toss them out entirely.

The Council's next Work Session takes place at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 28th in the Government Center's Council Chamber.