A graph from Carson City’s opioid use assessment showing Carson City with a high opioid prescription rate in 2020. However, for context, the assessment says, ‘opioid prescription counts are based off the location of the prescriber rather than the location of the pharmacy, which may suggest that individuals seeking prescriptions may be living in a different county.’
Before evaluating how best to combat opioid use in the community, the Carson City Board of Supervisors will review a resolution Thursday to set the maximum number of residential building permits for the next two years following the recommendation of the Growth Management Commission that convened May 29.
The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. in the community center, 851 E. William St.
The proposed resolution would allocate 779 permits for 2025, 802 permits for 2026 and estimates of 826 for 2027 and 851 for 2028.
The GMC meets annually to review the city’s growth management program implemented in the 1970s. It recommended following the historical cap of 3 percent residential building growth.
The permits would be split between general property owners and developers (43 percent and 57 percent respectively) for the first quarter of the new year then combined into a single category available on a first come, first served basis.
Supervisors also will review the threshold for commercial and industrial water usage.
“The commercial and industrial daily water usage threshold is proposed to remain at 10,000 gallons per day annual average, above which Growth Management Commission approval is required,” according to the agenda.
Besides growth management, supervisors will discuss and take possible action regarding Carson City’s Opioid Use and Misuse Community Needs Assessment Implementation Plan; a proposed plan for funds the city receives through the One Nevada Agreement on Allocation of Opioid Recoveries; and a proposed letter of intent and grant application to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for the Fund of a Resilient Nevada (FRN), Opioid Recoveries, programs for up to $750,000 a year through June 30, 2027.
“In 2021, the Nevada Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 390…which provided for the establishment of the suicide prevention and crisis hotline in Nevada, the Fund for a Resilient Nevada and guidance for state, local and tribal government organizations to help address the impact of opioid and substance use disorders across the state,” reads a staff report. “Also in July of 2021, the (Carson) board approved the agreement among the state of Nevada and certain local governments, to establish the allocation of proceeds recovered from companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of opioids.”
The report lists two funding sources available to the city: direct allocation from the state settlements that must be used “to remediate the harms, impacts and risks caused by the opioid epidemic,” and the FRN grants to local agencies and organizations “whose work relates to opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders.”
According to documents provided for Thursday’s meeting, the city will receive roughly $8.2 million from opioid settlements including from companies like Walgreens and Teva Pharmaceuticals. However, the proceeds are stretched out in a payment schedule through 2043.
The opioid epidemic began in the U.S. in 1999 and caused multiple waves of overdose deaths in the last two decades, according to the city’s opioid assessment.
“Out of every four drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2020, three of them involved an opioid,” according to that assessment.
The assessment further states: “According to the CDC (2020, 2021, 2022), Carson City saw a decline in opioid prescription rates from 2016 to 2020. However, as of 2020 Carson City has the highest rate of opioid prescriptions, which includes new orders and refills, in the state at 95.9 per 100 people.”
A note on that high rate provides more context, saying opioid prescription counts are “based off the location of the prescriber rather than the location of the pharmacy, which may suggest that individuals seeking prescriptions may be living in a different county.”
Tactics outlined in the assessment to combat opioid misuse include, among other measures, drug disposal kits in pharmacies; access to overdose prevention medication such as Naloxone and fentanyl testing strips for those working with at-risk populations; increased educational outreach; support of existing and additional treatment programs; expansion of the city’s street outreach program for unhoused individuals; and logistical improvements and additional personnel for the juvenile services, public defender and alternative sentencing departments.
The opioid assessment and implementation plan can be found online: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2671043/Opioid_Need_Assessment_Final_Draft_2.26.24_Time_4.15.pdf
A graph from Carson City’s opioid use assessment showing deaths in the city from different opioid types between 2016 and 2021. A note says 2021 data has not been finalized.
In other action:
• Supervisors will consider a proposed resolution to augment and amend the city’s fiscal year 2023-24 budget in the amount of $18,771,610.
“The proposed augmentation and revision is primarily due to salary negotiations with four employee associations (Sheriff's Sergeants, Firefighters, Battalion Chiefs, Deputy District Attorney's) that concluded after the FY 2023-24 budget was finalized, effects of the recently approved compensation study for the Carson City Employees Association (CCEA) and unclassified employees, bond issuance, annual and sick leave payouts, overtime, fuel and utility cost increases, Board of Supervisors' actions, Internal Finance Committee approvals, federal and local grants, transfers of contingency and unanticipated sources of revenue,” according to the agenda.
• Supervisors will weigh a proposed agreement for excess workers compensation and employer’s liability insurance with Safety National Casualty Corporation for a total estimated premium of $205,004 for fiscal year 2025.
“Staff is recommending excess workers compensation and employer's liability insurance with Safety National Casualty Corporation for FY 2025. The total premiums for FY 2024 were $192,651 so this renewal is an increase of approximately 6.4% for FY 2025,” reads the agenda.
• Supervisors will consider insurance agreements for a “total aggregate premium not to exceed $1,517,390 for fiscal year 2025 to be paid from the Insurance Fund and to be entered into with: (1) the Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool (POOL) for property insurance (including automobile physical damage), boiler and machinery, pollution (excluding the landfill), cyber insurance, auto liability, general liability, employment practices, errors and omissions and law enforcement liability coverage at a premium not to exceed $1,501,394; and (2) Great American Insurance for Crime/Employee Dishonesty at a premium not to exceed $15,996,” according to the agenda.
“If approved, recommendations for the POOL and Great American coverage premiums will increase the city's total renewal costs by $103,100 from FY 2024, a 7.3% increase from the prior year,” the agenda says.
• Supervisors will also meet 8 a.m. Friday in the community center to canvass the vote for the June 11 Primary Election.
“NRS 293.387 requires the Board of Supervisors to meet and canvass the returns on or before the tenth day following the election,” reads the agenda.
Clerk-Recorder Scott Hoen is expected to present final tallies for approval.