Mar 19, 2026 By Mike Jones 3 min read

Washington County officials are considering whether to contest a state board’s decision to reject four opioid settlement grants it awarded last year, although there is confusion over whether the county government or the entity that received the funds should appeal.

County solicitor Gary Sweat updated the commissioners on the situation during their Wednesday morning agenda-setting meeting five days after the state’s Dispute Resolution Committee denied an initial appeal on four out of seven grants that were deemed “non-compliant” for opioid settlement funds.

Following a 90-minute hearing Friday, the statewide opioid committee voted to reject four grants awarded by Washington County, which were $125,000 to LOYAL After School Programming, $58,500 for a study by The Hill Group’s Washington Co. OUD Services Assessment, $35,000 to Leadership Development LLC’s for 911 dispatcher training and $18,000 to Regola Consulting Grant Management. Those grants – and three others that were ultimately authorized during the hearing – were originally rejected by the committee in December because they did not fit the proper criteria or needed more information for final approval.

Sweat said all of the final appeals must be submitted to the state Commonwealth Court for consideration, although he and county Human Services Director John Tamiggi said they had received mixed signals about who should file the appeal. Sweat suggested that the entities receiving the money should file the appeals, while Tamiggi said he received guidance that the county could take the lead in that process.

“Everyone’s learning as they go,” Sweat said. “(The process is) being rewritten as they go. I wish I could have better answers.”

But even with potential appeals hanging in the balance, it’s unclear what may happen next since Washington County has already awarded the funds to the “non-compliant” programs and those entities have spent that money. Commissioner Larry Maggi questioned whether the combined $236,000 in grant money would then have to come from the county’s general fund or would need to be paid back by the entities that received them.

“They already got the money?” asked Maggi, who has been critical of the process in which opioid settlement grants have been distributed since it began a year-and-a-half ago.

“Yes,” Sweat responded.

Tamaggi added that the money from the non-compliant grants would not be clawed back, but admitted the county could receive less funding from the opioid settlement trust in future rounds.

“We got it, received it and disbursed it,” Tamiggi said.

Commission Chairman Nick Sherman had harsher words about the opioid settlement grant process that he claims has changed numerous times over the past two years, creating confusion in the application process. He suggested the county’s newly formed opioid grant review committee should meet immediately to consider the next round of grants in order to ensure the awarded funds receive final approval from the state.

“I think it’s important the committee convenes as soon as possible,” Sherman said. “But we don’t have any (guidance) to give them. … What we’re giving (the state committee) now, they’re saying it’s not eligible.”

Sweat suggested the county’s opioid grant review committee could request “pre-approval” from the statewide board to ensure the grants are authorized moving forward.

“That’s the safe way to do it,” Sweat said. “They’ve stated it’s not 100% foolproof, but it puts them on solid ground.”

“It’s frustrating,” Sherman said.

Washington County has allocated $4.7 million in grants from the settlement trust over four rounds since September 2024.

The commissioners are scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. today for their monthly voting meeting at the Crossroads Center building’s ground floor public meeting room.