BATH -- Steuben County will join a class action lawsuit seeking payment of damages from any and all persons or entities responsible for creating the opioid addiction epidemic. County legislators voted unanimously Monday to join counties and municipalities across the state in the effort to curb opioid addiction and recover the soaring local costs in law enforcement, mental health and social services caused by drug addiction. The effort will include large prescribers as well as the pharmaceutical industry, county Manager Jack Wheeler said. "We see this as a response to the cry from the public to ‘do something’ that we have heard at all our forums this year," Wheeler said. "Well, this is something we can do." The county hosted three substance abuse forums in Bath, Hornell and Corning focused on the devastating impact of opioids and other addictive substances. The forums also included information on supportive services through local agencies. The action is similar to a class action lawsuit Steuben joined in 1998 against four major tobacco growers in the U.S. The lawsuit resulted in a decline in production, compensation and funding for campaigns designed to curtail tobacco use. In other action, county legislators:
· Appointed county Deputy Manager Mitch Alger as the executive director of the independent Steuben County Land Bank Corporation. The appointment simply formalizes Alger’s work in representing the county on the corporation board and makes communication with the state more efficient, Wheeler told Steuben lawmakers.
· Authorized a public hearing on the eight-year review of Agricultural District No. 10 .
· Designated the Steuben County Conference and Visitors’ Bureau as the Official Tourism Promotion Agency for the County of Steuben.
· Adopted the Table of Equalization Rates for Fiscal Year 2018.
· Filed the Report of County Equalization for the Year 2018.
· Appointed county Deputy Manager Mitch Alger as the executive director of the independent Steuben County Land Bank Corporation. The appointment simply formalizes Alger’s work in representing the county on the corporation board and makes communication with the state more efficient, Wheeler told Steuben lawmakers.
· Authorized a public hearing on the eight-year review of Agricultural District No. 10 .
· Designated the Steuben County Conference and Visitors’ Bureau as the Official Tourism Promotion Agency for the County of Steuben.
· Adopted the Table of Equalization Rates for Fiscal Year 2018.
· Filed the Report of County Equalization for the Year 2018.
