County continues ARPA fund discussion, potential opioid task force

Avery Shanahan, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·3 min read

Sep. 13—EAU CLAIRE — Capital project budget uncertainties have postponed American Rescue Plan Act fund designations.

The Eau Claire County Committee on Administration members were hesitant to assign American Rescue Plan funds for internal projects until budgeted capital funds are established.

The county currently has $9.3 million worth of capital projects budgeted to be completed for the remainder of 2022. The question for County Board supervisors is, where will those funds come from?

At their meeting on Monday, the Committee on Finance and Budget did not approve recommending a resolution that proposed borrowing an amount that would not exceed $9.5 million to fund these projects.

The county has seen a significant revenue increase from sales tax and about $14.7 million in undesignated ARPA funds that could be used to alleviate the borrowing amount.

"We have sufficient funds to pay the bills by the end of the year without going to borrow," Zook said at the meeting Monday.

Earlier this year, departments in the county submitted applications for potential projects that ARPA funds could be used for that were not already budgeted for 2022. These projects are not included in the $9.3 million capital projects already budgeted for this year.

Some of these projects include solar arrays for the county's Agriculture Center and courthouse, updated technology in county conference and meeting rooms and the creation of additional staffing positions.

In a proposed resolution, the county would designate more than $6.5 million to fund 22 projects.

However, at their meeting on Tuesday, the Committee prioritized funding projects that needed a timely response, rather than recommending all 22 projects.

Supervisor Jerry Wilkie proposed an amendment to the resolution to postpone the remaining items until the County Board decides how to fund the remaining projects.

"Until the County Board makes a decision on bonding, the administrator gives us her recommended budget and budget and finance (committee) share with us any amendments, then I think we can make a sound decision," Supervisor Wilkie said.

The committee voted to recommend funding eight projects totaling $3.7 million ARPA dollars.

The following projects and initiatives will be funded: county communications system upgrade, criminal trial backlog, Fairchild Senior Living, Meals on Wheels equipment, conference room AV for hybrid meetings, technology for meeting rooms, cybersecurity firewall replacement and a Sheriff's Department radio system upgrade to digital.

The resolution with the amendment included will be presented to the County Board on Tuesday for approval.

Opioid Task Force

The committee also voted to recommend establishing the Eau Claire County Opioid Task Force.

After the opioid epidemic was identified as a public health crisis in 2017, numerous civil lawsuits were filed by the federal, state and local governments against opioid distributors and manufacturers.

In response to the various lawsuits, a settlement agreement was announced to resolve the majority of the lawsuits under the National Prescription Opiate Litigation.

The state of Wisconsin adopted legislation in the summer of 2021 to receive global settlements from major opioid distributors and manufacturers. AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson and Johnson & Johnson settled on $26 billion to local governments nationwide.

County Administrator Kathryn Schauf told the Leader-Telegram that Eau Claire County will receive just over $3.3 million of those funds over the span of 18 years.

"What we're trying to do is preserve (the funding) for its purpose to deal with the opioid epidemic, and so the task force will be our way of ensuring reasonable use of the funds," County Board Chairman Nick Smiar said.

The recommended resolution will also be brought to the County Board on Tuesday.