County Approves Funding for Sheriff’s Opioid App

 The Franklin County Board of Supervisors approved a funding request for a new app from Sheriff Aaron Dodd during their Jan. 26 meeting.

During the meeting, Dodd said that the funding would go towards the use of an app that was developed to help law enforcement agencies better work with and communicate to the public. Within the app, there is a section that gives information for facilities and general help with opioid addiction, Dodd noted during the meeting.

The use of the county’s opioid settlement funds must go towards addressing the opioid crisis and addiction, which is why it qualified for this use and was approved by the supervisors.

The app was created by OCV, LLC, which creates phone applications for law enforcement, public safety, emergency management and public health agencies.

Dodd said that the app has been around for a number of years and the Iowa State Sheriff’s and Deputies Association has used it for quite a while, and with a number counties using it as well, he felt that this would be a good use for the funding. He added that it also offers a way to share news with the community, without having to put it on Facebook, where misinformation can be spread in the comments.

The department is not using the app currently. However, it is set up and should be ready to go by April.