The Pasco County Commission has moved a step closer to joining with the state of Florida and other local jurisdictions in a plan to distribute settlement proceeds from litigation against manufacturers, distributors and retailers of opiates.
The board reached that decision on Aug. 10, after a closed-door attorney-client session with County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder and special counsel hired to assist the county.
The approved resolution allows the county to participate in the Memorandum of Understanding proposed by the Florida Attorney General, for a unified plan to distribute settlement proceeds.
The county board also authorized County Administrator Dan Biles to negotiate any necessary interlocal agreements with municipalities within the county.
In a separate action, the board will establish the Pasco County Opioid Task Force to develop an abatement plan and advise the board annually on the use and allocation of the regional funds.
The makeup of the advisory task force will be taken up separately because the board could not reach consensus on its makeup during the closed-door session, Steinsnyder said.
Plus, Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, who was absent, would like to weigh on the selections for that task force, he said.
In the resolution, “the county expresses its support of a unified plan for the allocation and use of opioid settlement proceeds as generally described in the Florida Plan.”
Although the makeup of the advisory board has not yet been approved, the resolution describes what it will do.
The advisory board will develop an abatement plan “that identifies strategies currently being utilized to respond to the opioid epidemic” and will present that to the county board before Dec. 1, according to the resolution.
“The abatement plan should also identify all programs in which the county is currently providing or is contracting with others to provide substance abuse prevention, recovery, and treatment services to its citizens,” the resolution adds.
The resolution also stipulates that “Pasco County has until Jan. 1, 2022, to establish the programs and abatement strategies required to meet the definition of ‘qualified county.’”
The board approved the resolution after Steinsnyder announced that both he and the board’s special counsel had advised them to take that action.
Published August 18, 2021
