By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Fiscal Court is in the process of establishing an advisory board made up of county residents to help examine proposals for grants made using funds from the opioid abatement settlement. The new board will undergo state training to help them better understand the existing guidance on how funds from the opioid settlement can be most effectively used to benefit those impacted by the opioid pandemic, as well as how opioid addiction can be prevented, and the role law enforcement plays in the crisis.
The one overarching rule or guideline to the opioid funds, in this case funds given by the state to Carter County, is that it must be spent to abate the damage done by opioid addiction. The guidelines that are currently in place (and those guidelines are evolving on a state-by-state level) do not lend themselves to a ‘blanket solution,’ so to speak. Instead, they fall into categories such as prevention, enforcement, and treatment. Those same guidelines also encourage a ‘new’ solution to a problem which has, unfortunately, devasted the country and our region especially for far too long.
“One of the things we wanted to really work on was prevention,” Renee Parsons of the Business Cultivation Foundation (BCF) said.
BCF is currently working on grants for the county, including the opioid grants, and regularly communicates on a state level about the evolving guidelines.
“Prevention is what the fiscal court is focused on and is what the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (KOAAC) is focusing on. They (KOAAC) really want to focus on youth prevention,” Parsons said.
Parsons said this focus is one reason that they are looking at every city and county, to determine what can be done that is new to enhance youth prevention.
“And they have to be sort of pilot programs,” Parsons explained. “It can’t be something that is already being funded. There are many wonderful programs in existence, but those can’t be duplicated or supplanted.”
Carter County Judge Executive Brandon Burton said the fiscal court sees the need to make their own coherent plan and establish a structure of how these funds can be applied for and dispersed. “We wanted to get started to help our community with the funds we have received,” Burton said. “And as time has went on and we have learned more, I think an advisory board will help us stick to a strategic plan.”
Burton said he sees the proposed advisory board as being extremely helpful as the fiscal court determines what types of programs would best benefit the residents of Carter County.
“We want to know what people on a daily or weekly basis who are involved in these programs need,
Burton explained. “And the advisory board will be extremely useful as an outreach to us to gather this information.”
“We are looking at the whole picture as we make a plan,” Burton said. “And then we are going to stick to that plan and make sure we are taking the right steps and doing everything we can to help our county.”
Burton said that rather than try to do everything immediately with the opioid abatement funds, the county wants to, at least at first, focus on taking smaller, sustainable steps. But those steps, he said, need to be the best steps possible. They need to be practical, educated steps that lead toward a possible benefit to the residents of Carter County.
The advisory board, which has been suggested for all levels of funding disbursement from the state to communities, allows a ‘voice’ to residents of those communities. This voice empowers them to inform local governments of what they see as positive avenues to improve their communities.
“The fiscal court wants to have good communication and know what the people in the community thinks we should do with this money,” Burton said. “And when they come back to us with the problems they see, then we can take steps to fix those problems.”
“We want people to ‘get in our ear’,” Burton said. “This is a servant job. That’s what we do; we serve the people of the county. We want their information so we can make the best decisions. It’s in our lap to make the best decisions, but we want them (Carter County residents) to be a part of those decisions.”
The concern is what is going on at home, Burton said. And to answer that concern requires the best information available. Burton said the county takes full advantage of all the training offered through the state, and the members of the advisory board will have access to that training as well. They will also have the benefit of being ‘boots on the ground’ who can gather information directly from the community and the organizations already serving the community. They can research each proposal submitted and present those findings to the fiscal court, both streamlining and improving the criteria the fiscal court will use to make those decisions.
The first step in implementing the advisory board will be two community forum meetings where the statutes are explained, as well as the expectations of what the county is looking for on the advisory board.
The first meeting will be April 24, at 6 pm at the Olive Hill Arts and Heritage Center. The second meeting will be held on May 13, at 6 pm at East Carter Middle School.
“Both of these locations are places that have received opioid funding, so you’ll be able to see some of what we have funded in action,” Parsons said. “And we can pass out the application for board membership and talk to people that are interested.”
The meetings are set up in the town hall style, so residents can not only receive information but are encouraged to ask questions and share their concerns.
Some criteria for becoming a member of the board are that the applicant must be a resident of Carter County, cannot be currently serving on another county board or committee, must be willing to attend the mandatory training, and must be able to collaborate respectfully and focus on community solutions. There is also a seat on the board for a teenage member, and the court wants members that represent multiple age categories. All board members are also volunteer positions, and the meeting schedule will be on a monthly basis.
“The fiscal court wants the support of the community with this platform,” Judge Burton said. “We want them to know we are doing everything we can with a strategic plan. We are wanting to utilize community outreach, listen to their voices, and try to fight this thing (the impacts of opioid abuse), knowing we are all working together to do it.”
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
