MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Monongalia County Commission is accepting applications for potential nominees to the state opioid settlement fund.
As part of a 13-county region to determine a representative on the eleven-person board for the WV First Foundation, the commission announced that they will host a formal meeting to vote on the county’s nominee to represent Region 4, which is scheduled for July 13. The meeting is being hosted on behalf of the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office, with Monongalia County hosting as the region representative, and will take place at Mylan Park.
“Resumes for individuals that are interested in being nominated by the Monongalia County Commission to be the Region 4 representative to the WV First Foundation will be accepted until 10:00 a.m. on July 5th,” said Commission President Tom Bloom on the deadline for applications.
Region 4 will include Monongalia County as well as Preston, Marion, Braxton, Lewis, Harrison, Taylor, Tucker, Barbour, Randolph, Gilmer, Doddridge, and Upshur counties. The person selected to represent the region will be part of an eleven-member board that will include representatives for similar regions across the county as well as six members appointed by Governor Jim Justice. The board will decide 72.5 percent of the over $1 billion in opioid settlement funds that haven’t already been directed to West Virginia counties and municipalities.
“And this has to do with the overall opioid settlement monies that are coming into the state and being apportioned to the various municipalities and government agencies,” said Commissioner Jeff Arnett.
The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office, the incorporator of the fund, as well as the Monongalia County Commission, have encouraged the nominees not to be currently serving in public office. Ideal candidates for the board include experts in medical management, law enforcement, and addiction recovery, among others. Applications will be accepted until early July.
“Show expertise in one or more of the following disciplines: substance abuse treatment, mental health, law enforcement, pharmacology, finance, healthcare policy, and management,” said Bloom on ideal candidates for board nominees.
Once a nominee is decided, the mandatory requirements for the articles of incorporation for the WV First Foundation will be met. Each of the thirteen counties will have its own nominees ahead of the formal vote, with the person named to the board expected to begin financial distribution efforts by the end of Summer 2023. Once a full board is decided, Mountain State municipalities will get to see how much opioid settlement funds will come to them.
“This is only the nomination that the county commission would recommend, and then there are all these other groups that will meet, and we will discuss that,” said Bloom.