At the Kosciusko County Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17, in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom are from left: County Attorney Ed Ormsby, Kosciusko County Commissioner Cary Groninger and Commissioners’ President Brad Jackson and Vice President Bob Conley. InkFreeNews photos by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko County has received $266,561.25 as its first payout in an opioid settlement.

County Attorney Ed Ormsby announced that news at the Kosciusko County Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

The county is getting the money as part of an agreement reached with Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen for their contribution to the national opioid epidemic.

Indiana was one of multiple states to benefit from the $26 billion settlement, with half of its approximately $507 million received going to counties, cities and towns that agreed to participate.

As part of the payout requirements, monies will be split into restricted and unrestricted funds, with the former to be used for dealing with and combatting drug abuse, including Narcan distribution and training, medication-assisted treatment for addiction and treatment for infants suffering from drug withdrawal due to their mothers using drugs while pregnant, among other things. A full list of usages for restricted funds may be found here.

The county’s first payout has $187,050.69 in restricted funds and $79,510.56 in unrestricted.

Commissioners didn’t decide yet at the meeting how those funds will be spent, but Commissioner Cary Groninger told InkFreeNews after the meeting that a committee may be set up for that purpose.

“There has been some talk of even a regional treatment facility and whether or not it would go together to help multiple communities at the same time,” said Groninger, adding that would involve a pooling of received funds from the county and other local governments that wished to participate.

In other business, commissioners:

• Approved replacing Alan Alderfer on the public defender board with Paul Stoelting.
• Reappointed Ormsby and Bob Weaver to the Tippecanoe and Chapman Lakes Regional Sewer District board.
• Approved a request brought by Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris McKeand to apply for a $31,920 Indiana Department of Homeland Security grant for new body cameras for KCSO employees.
• Approved requests for using some of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act money from the federal government. Those previously approved by both the county’s ARPA committee and Kosciusko County Council, consisted of: $32,991.54, $14,140.94, $18,457.44 and $154,272.94 for radio upgrades for the Claypool, Syracuse and Milford police departments and KCSO respectively; $37,066.68 for items including new washers, dryers and windows for The Beaman Home; and $18,859.25 to help pay for a new transit van for Combined Community Services and wrap it in the organization’s logo.
• Heard an update on the Kosciusko Economic Development Corp. from its CEO Alan Tio. He mentioned that KEDCo is involved in “about 30 different housing developments” throughout the county, with “11 of those (expected to) get underway this year at different levels.” According to a handout provided by Tio, the organization is also “supporting 33 job creation and investment projects countywide.”
• Approved Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith’s annual salary of $115,515 that was previously approved by the county council. Commissioners praised Smith for accepting an amount that was below what he could have asked for.
• Were introduced to the new deputy Kosciusko County Emergency Agency Director Kip Shuter by county EMA Director Ed Rock. Shuter will soon replace Rock.
• Approved a resolution in support of creating a tax increment financing district at the site of the former South Shore Golf Course at Syracuse. More steps exist in the process before the TIF, which would capture tax revenue in that area to be used for economic development, can officially be created.

The commissioners’ next meeting is 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom.

Kosciusko County Emergency Management Agency Director Ed Rock, right, introduces the new county deputy EMA Director Kip Shuter at the meeting. Shuter will soon replace Rock.

Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith signed his salary contract after the meeting.