Substance Abuse Public Funding Board meets Wednesday

The Substance Abuse Public Funding Board is meeting Wednesday afternoon. The board, comprised of officials from the city of Columbus and Bartholomew County, will determine what projects and programs are good fits for public money in the ongoing fight against the opioid epidemic.

Mary Ferdon, the city’s director of administration, says that the goal of Wednesday’s meeting is to approve the official application to request funds. She explained that the board requested that the Substance Abuse Accountability and Advisory Committee create one. The committee, made up of elected officials, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders, will consider funding requests and make recommendations to the public funding board. The board will then make a decision before pushing it to the city council, county council, or both for final approval.

Wednesday’s meeting is set for 3:30 p.m. in Conference Room 3 at Columbus City Hall.