COLUMBUS, Ind.–At Tuesday night’s meeting, Columbus City Council unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance to establish a public funding board, along with an advisory and accountability committee. These two bodies will provide governance for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress of Bartholomew County. A second ordinance also created a non-reverting fund to retain city money devoted to ASAP. Deputy mayor Mary Ferdon presented the ordinances before the council.
The public funding board is designed to be comprised of the mayor, city council president, a Bartholomew County commissioner, the county council president, and the president of Columbus Regional Health or any designee these members may appoint to represent them. The board would meet quarterly, making recommendations to the city and county councils for how money should be spent on ASAP programs.
The advisory and accountability committee would provide oversight of metrics, comprised of “content experts” that deal with the opioid crisis on a daily basis, such as law enforcement, hospital medical staff, and court staff. The committee will also report to both councils, the Bartholomew County commissioners, and Columbus Regional Health.
Councilman-at-large Tom Dell voiced concern regarding a potential conflict of interest since a service provider (CRH) would be on a board making recommendations that would potentially serve its own interests. This prompted council president Frank Miller to propose an amendment that would make room for an additional service provider on the funding board.
Also, councilwoman-at-large Laurie Booher expressed concerns on behalf of constituents who had reached out to her about why their tax dollars should be spent on other people’s mistakes. Ferdon, and county council member Laura DeDomenic, answered that the community will pay for this in other ways if action is not taken at the local government level. They argued from an economic standpoint, we pay for it already through jail and court costs along with a loss of extra tax dollars because people who are addicted are not productive members of society. Ferdon added that she felt this crisis would be the defining issue of our times.
