Davis County plans to spend $846,000 from its opioid settlement fund this fiscal year on jail equipment, staffing and treatment programs aimed at the county's drug crisis.

The FY2026 opioid settlement disbursement plan covers July 2026 through June 2027. It splits the money among the Davis County Sheriff's Office, the County Attorney's Office, the Legal Defender's Office and Davis Behavioral Health.

The largest single allocation, $265,000, goes to the County Attorney's Office for staffing to handle opioid-related cases. The Legal Defender's Office receives $124,000 for the same purpose.

The Sheriff's Office accounts for three line items: $200,000 for a body scanner at the jail, $112,500 for a new reentry specialist and $25,000 for Naloxone kits, the overdose-reversal medication. Davis Behavioral Health is set to receive $90,000 for opioid treatment. Another $29,500 is reserved for grants to other entities.

Body scanner contract moves forward

A separate commission agenda packet from Oct. 13 shows the county pursuing a contract with Tek84 for a jail body scanner at $174,835, including a five-year service agreement. Arnold Butcher, chief deputy in the Sheriff's Office, recommended the purchase. The plan had budgeted $200,000 for the scanner; the reason for the gap between the budgeted amount and the contract price does not appear in available records.

Settlement fund holds $8.4 million

The county's tentative budget, filed Oct. 30, 2025, projected the opioid settlement fund balance at roughly $8.4 million at the end of 2025. The fund expects about $1.29 million in new revenue for 2026, mostly from ongoing settlement payments, and $846,000 in expenses, leaving an estimated balance of $8.86 million by year's end.

The money comes from national settlements with pharmaceutical companies over their role in the opioid epidemic. At a June 23 commission meeting, Civil Attorney Kendall asked commissioners to ratify a participation agreement involving six additional defendants. He said the litigation had been ongoing for some time and the legal team recommended ratification.

At that same meeting, Controller Scott Parke requested approval for South Davis Metro Fire District to use $25,000 in opioid settlement funds to purchase secure drug boxes for safely containing recovered illegal substances. Those funds are set aside by statute and do not come from the county's general fund, according to the meeting minutes.

The plan document does not detail the rationale behind each allocation amount. The names of the six remnant defendants and the total amount Davis County expects to receive over the life of the settlements are not specified in available records.

Residents with questions about the opioid settlement fund can contact the Davis County Controller's Office at the Davis County Administration Building, 61 South Main St., Farmington.