Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron speaks Thursday night during a meeting of the Public Safety Committee of Council, where officials discussed the distribution of state opioid settlement funds. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
WHEELING – Members of the Public Safety Committee of Wheeling City Council met Thursday to discuss potential distribution of the city’s portion of West Virginia opioid settlement funds.
A list of proposals presented to the city from the Wheeling Police Department and Wheeling Fire Department was up for a second reading and a final vote during the most recent city council meeting, but officials opted to table the legislation in order to discuss the use of the money further at the committee level.
The city had received some proposals about use of the opioid settlement funds from representatives of local service agencies and expects to welcome additional proposals in the future, as another round of funding distribution is expected from the state within the next few months.
Some voices from the public have indicated that expenses related to drug prevention and treatment of opioid-dependent individuals should be considered to help nip problems in the bud before they get to the point of drug overdoses or drug arrests.
While city leaders noted that use of the settlement money by local service organizations is permissible, there are strict guidelines that make first response and crisis intervention a priority.
“The state of West Virginia received an opioid settlement of just under $1 billion, of which 22% was distributed to local cities and counties, for use a determined by the county commission – or in this case – city council,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said, noting that the remaining chunk of the state’s funding – minus 1% for administrative costs – will be distributed by the West Virginia First Foundation Board of Directors. “That’s going to be a statewide application process.”
An initial allocation of $726,000 from that original 22% has already been received by the city, and another allocation in around the same amount is expected to be received by the city of Wheeling in the coming months. Out of that initial 22% of the opioid settlement funding being distributed by the state, Wheeling will receive a total of around $1.4 million.
“There are guidelines associated with distributing those funds,” Herron said. “They are geared toward first responders in eligibility for purchases of equipment and for services.”
Proposals from the city’s police and fire departments were vetted by the City Solicitor’s Office and were found not only to be eligible, but also to be in a prioritized category under the guidelines.
“They fall within the priority in regard to the disbursement of funds,” Wheeling City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth said, noting that the uses by police, fire and emergency medical service personnel – under the settlement guidelines – clearly are deemed to be core response strategies, which are given priority over supporting strategies, which service agencies typically provide. “Police and fire are the ones on the front line of the opioid crisis … and they play a priority in the abatement, which is a key going forward. Other agencies fall primarily in the supporting category.”
Officials stressed the fact that the distribution of funds is the first round, and another allocation will be received in the near future.
“This isn’t all the money that’s coming in,” Councilman Dave Palmer said. “There’s another batch of money coming in, plus there’s all the money that the state has that can be applied for.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of great submissions”
Herron said officials have been working on guidelines and procedures for an application process. The amount of requests already received exceeds the amount of money the city currently has on hand so far from the settlement, Herron noted.
West Virginia Northern Community College, with support from other local service agencies, submitted a request for $62,000 for workforce training related to the opioid crisis. The House of the Carpenter also submitted an emergency request. Those proposals are currently being vetted by the legal department to make sure they are eligible uses.
Claudia Raymer, executive director of the Ohio County Family Resource Network, submitted an emergency proposal on behalf of multiple agencies. Raymer indicated that the $150,000 proposal was to be used for related efforts of Catholic Charities, The Life Hub, Greater Wheeling Homeless Coalition, Laughlin Chapel and the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling.
“This money was awarded on the backs of people who were manipulated by pharmaceutical companies,” Raymer said, urging city leaders to be good stewards of the money.
“The only concern I have with the proposals – and service providers and constituents have reached out to me and said – ‘I’m not comfortable with the $83,000 UTVs,’” said Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum. “Beyond that, I feel quite comfortable with the proposals.”
Wheeling City Councilman Ben Seidler speaks Thursday night during a meeting of the Public Safety Committee of Council, where officials discussed the distribution of state opioid settlement funds. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
Councilman Ben Seidler, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he agreed that the purchases of the utility vehicles initially seemed to be “ridiculous.” But Seidler said he has had conversations with Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger about the UTVs, as has Ketchum, and he has also researched the cost of the off-road vehicles. The councilman said he has come to the conclusion that they are needed for reasons consistent with the opioid settlement guidelines and could be useful in other emergency situations, as well.
Officials noted that the current exempt homeless encampment is off the beaten path along the Maintenance Trail adjacent to Wheeling Creek in East Wheeling. The UTVs can get there quickly and can also reach other, unauthorized locations for homeless camps, officials said, noting that the encampments have been prone to harbor segments of the community most affected by the opioid crisis.
The UTVs could be used to access wooded areas and portions of Heritage Trail that cannot be accessed by a typical police vehicle, officials added.
Citizens expressed concern about a negative public perception of purchases – like the UTVs – that are “fast tracked” for city agencies, while proposals from service agencies often have to go through a more lengthy review process.
“There’s public perception on everything,” Palmer said. “Sometimes we have to make hard decisions. Our decision is to take care of our city, our residents, our police force and fire, and we are using the priorities setup under the guidelines, so I think we are falling in line. But are some people going to have to wait a little longer? Yes.”
Seidler added, “I think the public has put its trust in us to make sure we distribute (this money) as we know best, and we take our role as public servants to heart. We stand on our reputation based on what we do with these funds, and I think that is what drives the perception.”
Requests for purchases related to the police and fire proposals total more than $584,000.
Wheeling City Councilman Dave Palmer speaks Thursday night during a meeting of the Public Safety Committee of Council, where officials discussed the distribution of state opioid settlement funds. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
The $431,884 proposal from the city fire department includes several equipment purchases to help first responders during drug-related emergencies. They include CPR training equipment and Narcan administration training equipment, controlled substances securing devices for ambulances and EMS supply storage areas, automated CPR devices, power stair chars to assist in safely moving incapacitated individuals, disinfecting equipment for ambulances, automatic external defibrillators, ballistic vests for responders and an EMS slide-in attachment for the UTV for transporting incapacitated individuals from hard-to-reach areas.
Raymer suggested that the city look at other available sources of funding for the purchase of Narcan and related equipment.
Proposed police purchases totaling $152,438 include a covert camera system, TruNarc handheld field testing device for suspected narcotics, the UTVs and a trailer, crisis intervention training to help first responders better understand situations when dealing with individuals suffering from auditory hallucinations, and a new police K9.
Members of the Public Safety Committee – Seidler, Palmer and Ketchum – on Thursday night voted unanimously to forward the police and fire proposals to the full city council for final consideration, along with the proposal from the Ohio County Family Resource Network, if it is deemed eligible by the legal department. Other proposals are expected to be reviewed and considered in the future.
