Two western Kentucky counties are putting together committees with different looks but the same goal in mind: to get the most out of their respective opioid abatement funds leading to meaningful progress for decades to come.
“We want this to be a long-term fix, not an immediate one,” Barren County Judge/Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd said. “We’re taking time with the funds because we want a larger impact overall.”
Barren and Trigg counties both approved opioid abatement committees in recent fiscal court meetings. Barren County will have a seven-member committee including the judge/executive, sheriff, jailer, county attorney, two magistrates and a citizen representative.
Trigg County’s committee comprises 12 people including one: magistrate, locally elected constitutional officer, council member, health department director, medical professional, addiction/recovery staff person, law enforcement staffer, judicial branch representative familiar with drug court, faith community representative, school district representative, member of Genesis Express and community member-at-large.
“You don’t have to be experts in all of those areas, but you try to find those experts and bring them into the process,” Trigg County Judge/Executive Stan Humphries said. “We wanted individuals with a keen insight and awareness who see this crisis up close. The advisory committee will work with the health department to determine where is the best place to spend the money for the best benefit to those affected.
“We are still working on the MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the health department, so we’re not there yet,” Humphries added. “We’d like to hire an individual to work at the health department to assess needs for those seeking first steps. We’re just getting started, but we want to make sure we get the most out of the funds allocated to us.”
Trigg County’s committee plans to meet quarterly starting in July with additional meetings added as needed.
Bewley Byrd compared Barren County’s approach to construction management.
“People will apply and express how they will want to use the funds, and they’ll present in front of the committee,” she said. “The plan is that one time each year, selected recipients will receive needed funds. We want transparency and to make sure the funds are spent the right way, the best way. We want to pull the politics out of this process and spend the way it should be done.”
KACo offers guidance for counties wanting to form an advisory committee. Go to https://kaco.org/media/6308/opioid-advisorygroups-1-1-1.pdf to learn more. To read background on Kentucky opioid settlement funds, go to https://kaco.org/county-information/opioid-settlement/.
