In the midst of planning for fiscal year 2027, which starts July 1 for Arizona municipalities, one department used recent work session time to show the Chandler City Council what it’s been doing on a critical front.
Chandler Fire Chief Tom Dwiggins presented some numbers, trends and plans going forward at a Feb. 26 work session about opioid abuse in the community and care for overdose victims, mostly using settlement funds the city has received from large-scale litigation.
“We deployed many resources anew in March 2025, so we have just about one full year of data now,” Dwiggins said about new Chandler Fire Department opioid overdose calls. “So not only have we learned important parts to the routine, such as working with the Dignity Health emergency rooms and who takes what insurance, but also, how things change around the clock and in the course of a week.”
