Hundreds of millions of dollars has already been awarded to the state of Kansas related to the opioid crisis, and with some of that money coming to local communities within the state, Salina is looking at options for how it will spend its share. The Salina City Commission discussed these settlements during a study session Monday, with several groups, including first responders and the main addiction treatment center on hand to give their thoughts on what the current state of the crisis in the community and how the funding could be used locally. “Hopefully, by the end of this (study session), we’ll have some good conversation about how we can utilized these funds to best suit Salina and the citizens,” said Debbie Pack, the finance director for the City of Salina. … As there are still some ongoing court cases surrounding the settlements, the amount the city will receive is still unknown but there is some guidance on how the funds can be used based on the Kansas Fights Addiction Act, passed by the state legislature in 2021. … Some options for the city would be to contract with or grant funding to nonprofits, charities or other entities, or pool the funds with other subdivisions to cooperatively expend the funds.
Source: Salina Journal
