By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Fiscal Court met in special session on Thursday, March 27 and voted to begin the process of removing Gimlet Creek Road (CR 1209) from the county maintenance schedule. The road is 1.83 miles long, and the judge executive and one of the magistrates will begin the process by going out and reviewing the road.
But the bigger question before the court was about the use of opioid settlement money.
The court discussed how best to proceed with the use of those settlement funds, and how the use of available funds would best benefit those in the county that were or could in the future be affected by the opioid pandemic. That core concern, combined with the broad and often less than helpful guidelines on the use and application of those funds, pose genuine problems for not only Carter County but other counties as well.
Magistrate Chris Huddle said that he was in favor of using the opioid settlement money for prevention. Huddle said he has heard officials from other areas say they weren’t spending a dime of their money, but rather putting it in certificates of deposit (CDs) to draw interest, a policy he doesn’t agree with.
“I think that could be perceived by the public as we didn’t care about fixing the problem,” Huddle said.
Huddle added that he was of the opinion that the money should be spent, but that the fiscal court should take time to research the ideas brought before them.
County judge executive Brandon Burton said it would be beneficial for the court to continue educating itself on the guidelines, and take advantage of the state training as it becomes available. Burton discussed with the court the possible benefit of pausing any future funding to reassess the guidelines, though they would continue to consider those already submitted for consideration. He also discussed setting a potential schedule that would determine how many proposals per year the court would consider, as well as opening and closing dates to submit those proposals.
Magistrate Harley Rayburn highlighted one key, frustrating issue counties face with the opioid funds.
“There should be answers on how this money can be spent,” Rayburn said. “And I would like those answers.”
Unfortunately, clear answers are not available at any level, and the pressure seems to be placed upon each recipient of the funds to use their best judgement. In spite of there being no clear guidance – or perhaps because of it – it becomes absolutely crucial to understand what little guidance is available. This includes both the fiscal court and the residents of Carter County as well, Judge Burton said. That would be the best way to avoid misunderstandings, he said.
“We had a little to go by in the beginning,” Burton said. “And now we have a little more to go by. So, we have to keep learning.”
The fiscal court discussed the possibility of holding a town hall style meeting in the near future and inviting the general public in to let them voice their concerns and offer insights into how they think the opioid abatement money could be used to benefit the community. Another idea discussed by the court was establishing an advisory board made up of county residents to help the court decide on project funding.
More discussion on the subject is planned for future meetings, and public input is encouraged in the process.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
