Board ends state of emergency, discusses first payment from opioid settlement

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PITTSBORO — In a relatively quiet first session since officially approving the new fiscal year budget, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners terminated the county’s state of emergency, saw the appointment of voting delegates to two upcoming North Carolina Association of County Commissioners conferences and reported the first received payment from a $26 billion national opioid settlement agreement.

During the manager’s report, County Manager Dan LaMontagne announced that Chatham County received its first payment of $111,719 as part of the national opioid settlement, of which North Carolina will receive $750 million over the next 18 years. Chatham County is expected to receive $2,907,865 between 2022 and 2038, according to the Community Opioid Resources Engine for North Carolina.

The Sheriff’s Prevention Partnership on Controlled Substances is currently looking at how to use the settlement money, LaMontagne said. The partnership will be meeting with a contact from the Opioid Response Network to see how the network could potentially assist the county with prevention and recovery from the opioid epidemic, he said.

Chairperson Karen Howard later said in the meeting that she thinks it’s wise to take advantage of the Opioid Response Network’s expertise, particularly with regard to harm reduction.

“I think it’s taken us a long time to get to understanding addiction as something more than bad behavior,” Howard said. “And as something that, you know, we’re not going to stick it behind a closed door and pretend it doesn’t happen in all of our communities. And so if we want to have meaningful improvement in lives and saving lives and sparing children living in certain circumstances, I think we’re going to have to really have broad, bold conversations about how we spend that money.”

Other business

• Howard issued the proclamation terminating the county’s state of emergency, which was originally put into place on March 17, 2020, at the start of the pandemic. The termination aligns with when North Carolina’s state of emergency lifts on Aug. 15 at 12:01 a.m., which Gov. Roy Cooper had announced earlier this month.

• During the meeting, the board also heard one public comment about environmental concerns and introduced Deon Bailey, a Northwood High School junior, who was selected as the 2022 YouthVoice Representative with Chatham County 4-H.

• The board also appointed Commissioner Diana Hales and Howard to serve as voting delegates for the Aug. 13 NCACC Annual Conference and Nov. 16 NCACC Legislative Goals Conference, respectively.

Howard expressed that the board should be mindful of unanimity regarding its goals for Chatham so that they have a greater chance of ensuring the goals are a part of NCACC’s agenda, which covers all of North Carolina’s 100 counties. In response, Hales proposed looking at Chatham County’s Property Tax Relief program, specifically in raising the maximum income needed to qualify for the program while still maintaining the tax exemption. The program has a stipulation that disabled individuals or those 65 or older are eligible for an exemption of $25,000 or 50% of the appraised value of the homeowner’s permanent residence, and currently sets the maximum income at $31,900.

Hales said that number has increased in the past few years.

“This is not Chatham exclusively,” Hales said. “As our property values are rising, you know, maybe is that a way to help benefit the real low-income?”

• The board ended the meeting by going into closed session to discuss issues regarding “the location or expansion of industries or other businesses,” the agenda states, including agreement on a tentative list of incentives for economic development.

The board’s next meeting has been moved from Aug. 15 to Aug. 24 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Courtroom in Pittsboro.

Reporter Maydha Devarajan can be reached at mdevarajan@chathamnr.com or on Twitter @maydhadevarajan.

Chatham County, commissioners, opioid, property tax