Wheeling approves use of opioid settlement funds for UTV, covert cameras, K9 unit
Despite no member of the public speaking in favor of the police department's requests during city council meetings, Councilors overwhelmingly supported the use of settlement funds by police.
Wheeling, W. Va. – City councilors met May 21 and approved a request from the Wheeling Police Department to use opioid settlement funds for a police K9 unit, crisis intervention training, one (1) utility terrain vehicle (UTV), a UTV trailer, a narcotics detector, and covert cameras–totaling some $113,935.54. The proposal was adopted six to one, with Councilor Rosemary Ketchum, Ward 3, voting in the negative.

The Wheeling Fire Department requested $431,833.69 in settlement funds for CPR and Narcan training, automated CPR devices and defibrillators, and ballistic vests, among other items. Their proposal was adopted unanimously.
West Virginia is expected to receive up to $1 billion after several companies settled a lawsuit accusing them of wrongdoing as it relates to the sale and dissemination of opiate drugs in the state. The state Legislature created a private organization–the West Virginia First Foundation–to facilitate disbursement of the funds.
It is unclear how much money Wheeling will receive, but city manager Robert Herron told the Public Safety Commission earlier this month the city received $726,000 in a first round of funds, with another installment coming in the future.
City administration has so far failed to create a process for who can apply for the funding, nor has the administration announced how applications will be chosen to receive funding.
Despite this lack of guidelines, the city’s police and fire departments were made aware that funds would be available, allowing them to send letters requesting their use on April 11. The police department began crafting their defense for use of the funds in early March, well before the public knew opioid settlement funding had reached the city.
The lack of process and perceived preferential treatment for city agencies caused at least three speakers at a May 7 council meeting to ask how their organizations could apply for funds. Herron did not have a good answer beyond sending an email to his office. Ketchum called for a process to be made public, but none has been shared by the city as of publication.
Three Wheeling residents spoke against the police’s request at that May 7 meeting with another five coming on May 21 to express their disapproval. Chief of Police Shawn Schwertfeger was the only individual at either meeting to speak in defense of his department’s funding request.

Kenneth Powell II said he sympathized with the police and fire departments who “do a hard job on a shoestring budget,” but said the council should “pump the brakes” to make sure the money goes to the right places.
“This money didn’t come out of nowhere,” Powell said. “It’s not a grant, it’s not a donation, it’s not a tax windfall. It’s a settlement. A settlement for whom? Victims. Victims of a crisis partially caused, and exacerbated, by out-of-state corporate interests who do not care one fig about the lives of any Appalachian.”
Powell said there are email chains from senior executives of companies like Kroger, CVS, RiteAid, and others, calling West Virginia “pill-billies”. “They wanted to kill us and they succeeded,” Powell said. “But for the first time in a long time these companies are being held responsible–at least to a degree–with the settlement money.”
He said there is an ethical and moral obligation to spend the funds appropriately.
“I have no doubt in my mind that the things being asked for by our police and fire departments are things they really do need; but, our obligation isn’t just one of need. It’s a moral need,” Powell said. “This settlement money belongs to the victims, and to spend it on anything that doesn’t directly help ease this crisis, helps save lives–that’s where the majority of [the money] needs to go.”
“This isn’t just a cops and fire department versus everyone else thing–far from it. I can’t do my job without them, but I need my counselors, my therapist, my K-12 teachers–I need all of them.”

Jasmine Donnell asked council to pause the vote on the fire and police funding requests until a “comprehensive action plan” to handle opioid settlement funds was put in place. “Wheeling has a major lack of resources for mental health and patient recovery,” Donnell told council. “We need to capture the moment and consider the health needs of our community.”
Donnell said she appreciates first responders who have dealt with the opioid epidemic, but she strongly advised the council to institute a plan to combat a “further downward spiral.” Donnell suggested more training on de-escalation and addiction issues–something she said would take pressure off of first responders.
Donnell noted the gift of several ‘trikes’ to the Wheeling Police Department in 2021–vehicles that can be utilized in difficult terrains. “Therefore, funding for new UTVs–I think they’re actually unnecessary,” Donnell said.
She also cited the department's 2024-25 budget of $9,000,000, and the council’s decision to exceed that budget by hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent upgrades—including a more than $6.8 million dollar headquarters, the purchase of new guns and vehicles, and a program to give every member of the Wheeling Police Department a take-home cruiser.
Zane Miller, who said he lost two close friends–Mark and Sam–to the opioid epidemic, asked the council not to spend “these crucial opioid settlement funds on police [UTVs] and unnecessary equipment.”
Citing the Roadmap to Opioid Settlement Funds–a recommendation by VOCAL-KY and 133 patterning organizations for communities throughout the United States to use opioid settlement funds–Miller said funds should not go towards police departments. “The sad fact is the police [UTV] would not have saved my friend’s life. Treatment and prevention could have.”
Miller said police should have Narcan in their kits. The city’s police department does not have a policy requiring law enforcement officers to carry the vital, opioid-reversing drug.
“I ask the council, again, to not spend these crucial opioid settlement funds on things like police [UTVs], and to wait for [city manager] Bob Herron to create protocol [sic] for organizations to request funds,” Miller said.
John Russell said twelve of his high school friends have died during the opioid epidemic. He echoed calls to pause distribution of funds until a process was created to vet proposals.
“The knee-jerk reaction to funnel [opioid settlement funds] into police departments that have already been given a lot of money and equipment–they’re doing fine,” Russell said. “They’re doing fine. This money is for victims. The police department is not a victim here.”
Dr. Vincent DeGeoge, Wheeling resident, echoed the sentiments of Donnell in requesting council to pause the vote to approve the funding request. He implored city administration to release guidelines for how organizations could apply for funds, a process to review those applications, and ultimately distribute the funds.
“This is a hugely significant opportunity,” DeGeorge said. “A once in a lifetime–and, unfortunately, too many lifetimes have actually missed this opportunity.”
“We lose nothing by waiting,” DeGeorge said. “Unfortunately, I do think we can miss out on a lot of good work that can be done with these funds.”
DeGeorge said he fears a “rush” to approve these funds would cause animosity between the city of Wheeling, particularly its public health agencies, and its first responders. “It looks like the city offices–police and fire–are getting special treatment, and that the rest of the community…is having to go through a separate process to get whatever funds are left over.”
Despite a concerted effort by residents requesting a pause in approving the funding request, an overwhelming majority of city councilors expressed their desire to move forward.

Ketchum, during comments before the vote, echoed the comments of Powell saying there was an ethical obligation to use the funds to prioritize victims. “I do not support [the police’s] proposal, not because I don’t believe enforcement is important,” Ketchum said, “but I want there to be a thoughtful and fair process for all funds to be received.”
“I don’t want to fund enforcement before we fund treatment and recovery,” Ketchum said. She went on to say the fire department’s proposal was of no concern, but that the police request for a UTV was a “red flag”.
After the meeting, Ketchum told this reporter that the vote against the police department’s request was mainly a concern over the purchase of UTVs. “I believe we have additional equipment at our disposal that we have not utilized to their fullest extent,” Ketchum said. “Also, one was described as ‘tactical’. That concerns me when we’re talking about vulnerable communities.”
“For reasons of principle and reasons of process and reasons of procedure, I did not feel compelled to support [the police department’s proposal],” Ketchum said. “I do hope that a process that is fair and ethical is created for the…second allotment.”
Ketchum, who has requested the creation of a process to apply for use of the settlement funds, said she hopes one is enacted soon. “We have known for about a year that we were receiving these funds–a lot of time to create a process and procedure,” Ketchum said.
“There are plenty of opportunities to support public safety,” Ketchum said. “[It] did not have to come out of settlement funds. Those could be funded elsewhere.”
Councilor Ty Thorngate, Ward 5, spoke after the public comment period and before the vote on funds to express his support for the police department’s request.
“We must stop treating this like an us versus them scenario,” Thorngate said. He advocated for the creation of a “task force” of nonprofits and individuals to work in a “collaborative effort” to develop a comprehensive plan for use of the funds.
“But I think it’s important to remember that our first responders do deal with [the opioid epidemic] daily,” Thorngate continued. “I think it’s important that we stop vilifying these men and women [police and fire departments] who have all been impacted by opioids just like the rest of us.”
No residents at the May 7 or May 21 city council meetings speaking in opposition to the fire department's request for use of opioid settlement funds vilified first responders.
Thorngate went on to offer an amendment to the police department’s request eliminating one of the UTVs at a cost of $38,502.54. This department would still be authorized to purchase a second UTV and an accompanying trailer. The amendment was adopted by a vote of 5 to 2, with Councilors Ben Seidler, Ward 2, and Dave Palmer, Ward 6, voting in the negative.
Councilor Jerry Sklavounakis, Ward 4, argued that the police and fire department’s request fall within the guidelines offered by the W. Va. First Foundation. In fact, those agencies are considered top priority–Schedule A–by the foundation to receive funding. Those guidelines were prepared by Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Republican nominee for governor.
From 2010 to 2012, Morrisey was a private lawyer and lobbyist for several drug companies implicated in worsening the opioid epidemic. He was also the lead attorney on behalf of West Virginia in suing drug manufacturers and distributors leading to the settlement.
Morrisey accepted campaign contributions from Cardinal Health, a defendant in the lawsuit. His wife is a registered lobbyist for Cardinal Health, too.
Seidler said he did not believe anyone on city council had any intention of not supporting service providers with future disbursements of settlement funds, but argued in favor of funding the fire and police departments’ proposals.
Mayor Glenn Elliott, acknowledging his failure to attend the previous two meetings where these requests were discussed, said he supported the proposals. “I think the history of prohibition and everything else proves that as long as there’s a demand for something it will find its way into our communities,” Elliott said. “Looking through these individual proposals, though, I do think they are reasonable first steps.”
Elliott noted that four of the members of council who will return during the next term, Seidler, Sklavounakis, Thorngate, and Palmer, had promised the rest of the funds would go to prevention-based proposals. “If you stick together to that I think that’s a good sign going forward.”
Ultimately, the vote for the police department’s request passed 6 to 1, with Ketchum voting in the negative. It is unclear when the next round of settlement funds will come to the city, nor is it known how much will be available, but a majority of the next council has promised they will prioritize recovery, support, and victims.