Bangor council restores Bangor Public Health to opioid grant slate

The Bangor City Council met in a special workshop to review the Opioid Advisory Committee's recommended slate of 19 opioid settlement grant awards. Councilors voted 7-1 to amend the slate by putting Bangor Public Health's application back in, after the committee had removed it in a split 3-2 vote. A second motion to give Wabanaki Public Health first consideration in the next funding round was withdrawn.

Key points

• The Opioid Advisory Committee received 32 grant applications and recommended 19 awards, meeting 15 times before its final recommendation passed 3-2.
• The dispute centered on the committee's decision to drop Bangor Public Health, whose application scored sixth highest, for a per diem nurse at the Wabanaki one-stop shop; Councilor Daniel Carson said he voted no because the applicant was disqualified based on who it was, not the content of its application.
• Councilor Michael Beck moved to amend the slate to replace Wabanaki Public Health with Bangor Public Health's application; the amendment passed 7-1, with Wayne Mallar opposed.
• Beck then moved to have Wabanaki Public Health considered first in the next round of funding, but withdrew the motion after questions about what "first consideration" meant and objections that it would give one applicant an unfair edge.
• Councilor Wayne Mallar said he would vote against the slate over a lack of coordination among service providers, citing duplication of services; other councilors said they trusted the committee's scoring process.
• City Solicitor David Szewczyk said the settlement funds belong to the city and must be spent on approved uses under the memorandum of understanding, with the council making the final decisions.

Next steps

• City staff will work the amended grant slate into an order for the next regular council meeting.
• The council plans a future workshop to discuss how the committee process went and whether to form a standing committee for the next round of opioid funds, possibly after budget season.
• Contracts with grant recipients will be drawn up by the city solicitor and will require reporting data back to the city.

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