CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield-Jefferson Drug and Alcohol Commission, the Clearfield County Controller’s office and the Clearfield County Commissioners have settled a dispute about allegedly missing funds.
At a hearing before Judge Daniel Milliron Wednesday, all parties involved in the suit agreed to a settlement, which Milliron described as “perfect” for everyone.
Milliron dictated an order containing language, which had been agreed upon at a previous hearing.
The order specifies that the Clearfield-Jefferson Drug and Alcohol Commission has been designated as the single county authority under the Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Act, known as Act 198.
As such, the commission will receive 50 percent of the funding the county collects under Act 198. The money will be used for drug and alcohol prevention programs and for treatment programs.
The county probation office will also provide monthly accounting to monitor the funding received under Act 198 for both the Drug and Alcohol Commission and the county commissioners.
The county will also receive 50 percent of the fines collected by the state police under Act 198 and half of that funding will be given to the Drug and Alcohol Commission.
These provisions will remain in place for as long as the Drug and Alcohol Commission remains designated as the single county agency.
Solicitor Kim Kesner said due to regulations under the Sunshine Law, the commissioners must vote to approve ratifying the order at their next regular meeting.
Milliron commended all parties involved for showing “great integrity” during the process.
According to previously published GANT News articles, in June of 2015, the Clearfield-Jefferson Drug and Alcohol Commission filed a complaint against the Clearfield County Controller. The Drug and Alcohol Commission later named Clearfield County as an additional party in the complaint.
The complaint alleged that 10 years of Act 198 was “missing.” Under Act 198, the county is required to impose and collect cost and assessments from criminal defendants convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, and or violations of the Controlled Substance Act.
On June 19 that year, attorneys for the Controller’s office issued a statement maintaining there is no missing money. The statement said monies under Act 198 were made part of the Clearfield County budget by the Clearfield Commissioners and were disbursed by the Clearfield County Commissioners.
