Exclusive: Commissioners Expected to Approve Needle Exchange over Housing

Needle exchange funded? Homeless housing proposal rejected? The public will get a chance to weigh in on Monday night.

Rutherford County commissioners are expected to vote Monday night on a controversial opioid settlement spending plan that would direct millions of dollars toward methadone treatment, jail-based addiction care, naloxone distribution, peer recovery programs, and a mobile syringe exchange program — while rejecting a housing-focused recovery proposal aimed at stabilizing families facing addiction and homelessness.

As of Friday, the county had still not publicly posted the June 1 Board of Commissioners agenda. But WCAB News obtained internal funding recommendations, draft resolutions, reviewer notes, and application summaries using open-source investigative reporting methods ahead of the meeting.

Despite being stamped “confidential working draft,” the records involve proposed government spending and public decision-making. There is nothing confidential about public records tied to how taxpayer-controlled opioid settlement money may be spent, under the law and the settlement itself. It is unclear who was part of the decision-making committee referenced in the documents.

Voters have the final say about who sits in the commissioner seats, who ultimately decide how the settlement money is spent.

In North Carolina, details regarding how local governments spend their opioid settlement funds are generally public records. Specific records may only be kept confidential if they contain protected health information (PHI) or trade secrets.

Public meetings may be recorded under the law.

The proposal recommends spending $2,368,176 through 2029, including:

• $870,000 for jail-based medication-assisted treatment inside the Rutherford County Detention Center,

• $362,976 for methadone treatment access,

• $270,000 for a mobile syringe exchange and harm reduction team,

• $150,000 for peer recovery transportation support,

• $150,000 for a faith-inclusive recovery center expansion,

• $265,200 for youth intervention programming,

• $30,000 for naloxone distribution,

• and $270,000 for Gatespring Consulting to oversee compliance, reporting, and public communication.

  
  

The largest single award would go to Preferred Choice Healthcare for a detention center opioid treatment initiative involving the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, Blue Ridge Health, and McLeod Centers for Wellbeing.

The proposal would provide medication-assisted treatment for inmates with opioid use disorder and attempt to connect them to care after release.

Meanwhile, reviewers rejected a $244,040 request from the Rutherford Housing Partnership for a recovery-focused family stabilization program centered on housing support, rent assistance, utility assistance, transportation, and recovery case management for families in crisis.

That denial is likely to raise questions among some residents because the same recommendation package includes $270,000 for a mobile syringe exchange and harm reduction operation run by United Way of Rutherford County.

According to the application documents obtained by WCAB News, the United Way program would continue distributing syringes, Narcan, fentanyl test strips, and other supplies through a countywide mobile outreach effort targeting people actively using drugs.

Reviewer notes described the program as “the only Rutherford County mobile harm reduction team and SSP.”

A SSP is a syringe services program, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

At the same time, the reviewer, Scott Luetgenau of Gatespring, noted questions about whether the housing stabilization proposal served enough families to justify its cost, estimating that the program would directly assist six to eight high-acuity families over three years.

The records also show the county rejected a separate proposal from the sheriff’s office to install biometric “Cell-Guardian” overdose detection systems inside the jail. The technology would have monitored inmates for respiratory distress and overdoses between officer welfare checks.

According to the application, three in-custody deaths between 2024 and 2025 involved opioids.

Monday’s meeting could generate significant public debate as commissioners decide whether to approve the recommendations.

Residents who support or oppose the proposed opioid settlement spending plan can sign up to speak during public comment at Monday’s 6 p.m. Board of Commissioners meeting at the Rutherford County Annex building in Rutherfordton.

North Carolina’s opioid settlement funds come from national litigation settlements with opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers accused of fueling the opioid epidemic. Counties are required to spend the money on approved addiction treatment, prevention, recovery, and harm reduction strategies under statewide settlement agreements.