Supervisors OK opioid plans, residential growth cap

Using money corporations paid out in settlements from the opioid epidemic, the Carson City Board of Supervisors unanimously approved several plans for action Thursday to address opioid misuse in the city.

Supervisors approved a community needs assessment and implementation plan; a five-year plan for allocating money that comes directly from the One Nevada Agreement on Allocation of Opioid Recoveries; and an application and outline of requests for state grant money of up to $750,000 a year through June 30, 2027.

Supervisors shuffled some items from the direct-allocation list to the state grant requests (eyeing the Fund for a Resilient Nevada), hopeful that grants, if awarded, would free more space for measures funded directly through the settlements.

The city’s direct portion of settlement money totals about $8.2 million but is stretched out in a payment schedule through 2043. The five-year list approved Thursday included items like a case manager for the Carson City Public Defender’s Office and an outreach specialist for the Department of Juvenile Services.

The state grant requests approved Thursday included a drug and alcohol counselor for Juvenile Services, overdose medicine for first responders and a lab technician for the Department of Alternative Sentencing, among other items.

City Manager Nancy Paulson said the city’s assessment and implementation plan had three target areas aligned with state goals: preventing misuse of opioids and other substances; enhancing behavioral health treatment resources; and enhancing prevention and treatment efforts in the criminal justice system.

“I believe there are going to be many more grant opportunities from the state,” said Paulson. “As I looked at their spreadsheet that shows all of their settlements … it looks like they’re going to get over $422 million as of right now, and it could go up higher than that.”

Supervisor Maurice White suggested some of those resources be used to provide training for Carson City Sheriff’s Office personnel to deal with people “in severe detox”— a suggestion Mayor Lori Bagwell said could be realized in the future depending on how state grant awards turn out.

Supervisor Lisa Schuette wanted more data on those in diversion programs reoffending, leading supervisors to add a measure to the current plan that would track recidivism several years out.

Carson City Public Defender Charles Odgers described difficulty in tracking success in substance-abuse cases.

“What we will see is we will see a reduction in the use,” he said.

That means a reduction in the number of clients making contact with law enforcement while under the influence, he said.

“I think it’s really unique that we have a long-term funding source here,” added Bagwell, “that we can actually look to determine if there’s a best practice.”

In other action:

• Following the recommendation of the city’s Growth Management Commission, which meets annually, supervisors unanimously approved a resolution setting the maximum number of residential building permits for 2025 and 2026 and estimates for the subsequent two years.

Community Development Director Hope Sullivan emphasized that since the 1980s, actual residential permits issued have been consistently below available allocations. She also stated any motels in the city converting to apartments will draw from the GMC allocations.

Following a 3 percent growth rate, the resolution passed Thursday allocates 779 residential building permits for 2025, 802 permits for 2026 and estimates of 826 for 2027 and 851 for 2028. The resolution also keeps the commercial and industrial daily water usage threshold at 10,000 gallons per day, meaning any applicant proposing to use more would need separate GMC approval.

• Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution augmenting and amending the city’s fiscal year 2023-24 budget in the amount of $18,771,610.

Bagwell called such augmentations at the end of the fiscal year routine. A chunk of the augmentation stemmed from employee negotiations after the budget was finalized last year, according to the city, as well as from a bond issuance, grants and other items.

• Supervisors unanimously approved an agreement for excess workers compensation and employer’s liability insurance with Safety National Casualty Corp., for a total estimated premium of $205,004 for fiscal year 2025.

For the next fiscal year, supervisors also approved insurance agreements with the Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool for property insurance and liability, among other items, and with Great American Insurance for crime/employee dishonesty coverage. Total premiums will not exceed $1,517,390, according to the city.