KENT COUNTY, Mich. — Kent County is one step closer to spending millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds.
The Finance and Physical Resource Committee approved the plan for the first two years of spending at a meeting Tuesday morning — a meeting that had been delayed a month to get more input.
"It was great to have the Lakeshore Regional Entity have a look at it, because they are over seven counties. They have an idea of what's going on in the region, and they were supportive of what was included in our plan," said epidemiologist Rachel Jantz, leader of the Kent County Opioid Task Force.
The outline, put together by that task force, remains unchanged despite the delay. It outlines the same plan for the county's first $1.6 million in funding that 13 ON YOUR SIDE first reported on in April.
Kent County opioid settlement spending plan for year 1 and 2
That plan has been the topic of internal concerns within the task force, some pushing for more transparency and more immediate funding for harm reduction.
Tuesday's meeting was the first meeting where commissioners could publicly ask questions of the task force and health department.
Michelle McCloud, Kent County Commissioner for District 13, said she would not approve of a plan that did not offer new, innovative approaches.
"It is important for us to really think about," McCloud said. "If the system was working right, I don't think that we would be where we are."
McCloud cited how Black residents face an overdose death rate three times that of white residents, as well as her own personal connection to the issue.
"I guess this is really close to my heart, right, of having so many family members that have overdosed and passed away from this," McCloud said.
Jantz says she agrees and looks forward to getting creative in future spending plans.
"When you're talking about large spending, innovation can sometimes be scary because you want to do something that you know has a given outcome," Jantz said. "That gives us more leeway in the future to be looking toward other solutions for our community."
The spending plan still has two more meetings to get through: The Legislative and Human Resources Committee on July 16 and the Board of Commissioners on July 18.
The hope is for the Board of Commissioners to give final approval in that July meeting, two months later than the May 21 meeting they originally planned for.
"We are eager to start spending and addressing this issue within our community," Jantz said. "We have not had this sort of dedicated funding for the opioid crisis before, and so I'm really excited to see what we're able to do in Kent County."
If approved in July, she says it will still take some time before that money starts flowing. Some initiatives will be quicker to start than others.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.