$30K United Way Request for County Opioid Settlement Funding

July 14, 2026 Opioid Board meeting

Discussed at the Opioid Board meeting on July 14, 2026. Prefer that page for the full outline and recording.

This summary was generated by an LLM from the meeting outline and transcript and may contain errors. Prefer the original meeting page.

United Way asked the Opioid Board for $30,000 in county opioid settlement funds, down from a prior $60,000 grant. Members questioned outdated application dates, stale contact information, and a named project lead who had already stepped away. Rather than reject the request, the board voted to defer it to the next meeting so United Way could submit a cleaned-up application with current information — and potentially revise the amount requested.

This is the new funding application, not the separate unused-funds reimbursement from an earlier United Way grant that was discussed in the same meeting’s financial report.

Application and request

• The current request was described as $30,000, lower than the prior $60,000 grant.
• The application had been tabled earlier because of questions about dates and paperwork. The resubmitted packet still showed 2025 dates and other apparent errors.
• Members questioned how the organization had moved from a prior grant structure that included a $39,000 director salary to a current request showing only $10,000 for a part-time CPS/prevention position.
• United Way’s explanation was that it hoped other grant funding would supplement this request so county opioid money would not have to cover the full staffing cost.

Leadership and program

• The person listed as responsible for the project, Katie Harrington, had stepped away because of personal and health issues and was no longer available to run the work.
• The position was unfilled. United Way said it had spoken with a Hickman County resident who might consider the role if funding were secured.
• That created a catch-22: United Way said it was hard to hire without guaranteed salary funding, while members questioned approving an application that named a person no longer in place.
• United Way described the program as prevention outreach — school visits, county events, information and resource boxes, and youth-focused drug-prevention education — starting mainly with younger students. It serves as fiscal agent because the grants are reimbursable.
• Members also asked about public contact information. There is a Hickman County Prevention Coalition website, but the current application and public-facing details still centered on the departed employee, and members questioned whether the listed 1-800 number reached a local Hickman County contact.

Board action

• Board concerns centered on credibility and completeness rather than opposition to the prevention program itself.
• A motion was made and seconded to defer the United Way application until the next meeting so it could be cleaned up, corrected, and updated with replacement-contact information. The motion passed without opposition.
• During the discussion, the board encouraged United Way to submit a fully revised application and indicated the revised ask was not necessarily capped at $30,000.

Key figures