(Sidney) -- Fremont County officials have backed obligating a portion of its opioid settlement funds.
At its regular meeting Wednesday morning, the Fremont County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved allocating $8,823 from the county's opioid settlement fund towards the purchase of the narcotic/crisis K-9 vehicle kennel and associated equipment for the Sheriff's Office K-9 unit. The money comes from an agreement that the Iowa Attorney General's Office signed onto in 2022 that provides money from manufacturers to help abate the opioid crisis through prevention and treatment. The funds are allocated to the states and then spread throughout the county's based on population. Sheriff's Sergeant Andrew Wake says the move comes as they have replaced their old K-9 vehicle.
"This would be for the kennel and the safety measures for the dog, which is like a door popper, and the heat alarm," Wake explained. "So if the dog gets too hot, it sets an alarm off to the officer's phone or a pager, it sets the tones off, and honks the horn to let people know that there's a dog in distress possibly in the vehicle."
Wake says the opioid dollars would also free up some of the department's vehicle budget. He adds that the project fits into the state guidelines for how the money can be spent, including law enforcement expenses that directly support opioid response, intervention, and the safety of first responders.
"For expanding training and equipment for first responders, the gog is listed as a first responder within the county, so it's a county employee and this is a county piece of equipment, so that works on that," said Wake. "It also supports diversion and connections with care. One of the first steps for people with addictions is law enforcement and the courts trying to force that first step into treatment. So, that's a connection and law enforcement is usually that first step for people going into treatment."
Wake adds that the K-9 unit frequently assists in opioid-related incidents for scene safety and detection. Katelyn Murtfeld is director of Mills County Public Health, which shares its services with Fremont County. Murtfeld says the opioid settlement fund currently has around $92,000, with roughly $36,000 earmarked for the current fiscal year. However, before Wednesday, she says none of those funds had been obligated.
"We are looking at trying to get more prevention programs up and running," said Murtfeld. "So we'll hopefully be back within the next month or so here to request funding for some different prevention programs using a substance abuse counselor that would come in."
Supervisors Chair Clint Blackburn called the move a "win-win," while Supervisor Dustin Sheldon says it would provide some relief from the county budget while also improving the K-9 unit.
"It's got a set of guidelines that has to be used for this and I think this fits," said Sheldon. "If we can take that burden off of the budget in another place some of this money, then we probably need to do this."
Wake says that while they do try to transfer their existing kennels to a new vehicle, the body styles of the cars often change year-over-year, resulting in the old kennels typically not fitting in the latest vehicles.
In other business Wednesday, the board...
--Held a closed session pursuant to Iowa Code 20.17(3) to discuss union negotiations, with no action taken following the session.
--Approved signing the Iowa DOT payment voucher for engineering services on the L-31 Waubonsie Creek Bridge and the 270th Street Mill Creek Bridge for $12,411 and $1,941, respectively.
--Approved payment application no. 2 for the Highway 2/Interstate 29 Drainage District for $644,919.90.
--Met with County Resident Leroy Vrbsky to discuss dust control on county roads.