CRYSTAL FALLS — The Iron County Board on Tuesday voted to spend $23,000 in opioid settlement funds annually for the next five years to hire a health educator to work with area youth on substance abuse and violence prevention as part of a joint effort with Dickinson County.

The Dickinson County Board on Monday had approved $55,000 annually on the position. The Dickinson-Iron Health Department will employ the health educator and share some costs as well.

The position would be paid with settlement funds from various lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies. Communities are receiving different settlement amounts per capita, depending on a formula the state developed to measure vulnerability to the opioid crisis.

Dickinson County’s share of the lawsuit settlements is roughly estimated at nearly $1.7 million, while Iron County is expected to receive about $740,000, according to the Michigan Association of Counties’ online Opioid Settlement Resource Center.

The majority of funds received from the opioid settlements must be spent on opioid remediation, which is designed to address the misuse and abuse of opioid products; treat or mitigate opioid use or related disorders; and mitigate other alleged effects of the opioid epidemic.

In other business, the board:

— Tabled a resolution establishing 2025 pay rates for elected officials.

— Agreed to purchase seven used 800MHz radios from Gogebic County Emergency Management for a total price of $5,200. Iron County Emergency Management Manager Chris Peterson said the radios would be an upgrade from what most emergency services in the county were using and new ones would cost $4,300 per unit.

— Approved labor agreements with the Technical, Professional and Office Workers Association and the Police Officers Association of Michigan. The agreements cover the courthouse union, trial court union and central dispatch union.

— Set the 2025 Iron County Youth Camp fees. In-county residents will pay $175 and out-of-county $375.

Band camp rates will be $250 for county residents and $550 for out-of-county. There will be a $50 discount for registering for band camp before Feb. 1.

— Rates for Pentoga Park will remain unchanged from 2024.

— Appointed Bates Township Supervisor Mike Stafford to the Western U.P. Materials Management Committee in the elected official position.

— Set the board’s organizational meeting for 8 a.m. Jan. 3.