While Sierra county, Catron, Cibola, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Socorro and Valencia Counties have come together to invest monies from settlements and opioid lawsuits into new treatment plans, Otero County vows to have no part of it. “The funding could go to the Sheriff’s Department.” said county attorney R.B. Nichols.
What’s at stake for Sierra and the other counties? Well, the amount of settlement funds coming to New Mexico, and more specifically to the listed counties, is nearly $200 million dollars. Forty five percent of that will be dedicated to the state, the remaining fifty five percent will go to a county pool to be split among those communities.
While early indications for Otero point to a “law enforcement” solution, Sierra County is pooling with the others in hopes to develop and implement a system of a comprehensive, sustainable opioid addiction treatment program. The Opioid Remediation Collaborative would have an oversight board of six members, open public meetings, and a New Mexico State Board of Health representative/liaison. Valencia county will be appointed the fiscal agent as it has far and away the larger share of the monies dedicated.
Along with the monies from the opioid lawsuits and settlements, gifts, grants, and other monies can be combined to increase the outreach and level of services. The monies, according to the ORC, will not revert back to the state or other agencies, but roll into the next fiscal year in order to provide a steady level of programming.
The Opioid Remediation Collaborative would pool the monies received in these settlements, along with the gifts and grants, to provide comprehensive care for people dealing with opioid addiction and opioid overdose. Each individual county stands to receive a sliding scale portion of the amount if they do not join the collective, with payouts ranging from $17K to nearly $500K per county. Sierra County stands to gain approximately $160K from individual payouts.
Initial documentation (Joint Powers Agreement) suggests that the ORC will be solely financially responsible for programs and any other expenses, and none of the participating counties will be held liable for lawsuits brought against the ORC.