Council hears limited opioid-settlement payments; funds earmarked for remediation programs
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Summary
Finance staff told the council the city will receive $48,002.91 this year from Janssen and Distributor settlements to be distributed equally over 13 years, and that Kroger settlement distributions are pending; the funds must be used for opioid remediation efforts and are expected to provide modest annual amounts.
City finance staff briefed councilmembers at a budget workshop on the city's opioid settlement fund, saying the city will receive two awards this year totaling $48,002.91 from Janssen and Distributor settlements to be disbursed equally over the next 13 years.
Staff also said the city is part of a Kroger settlement and signed required documents last July but has not yet received distribution projections for that agreement. For the current budget, staff modeled only the two Janssen/Distributor payments because Kroger's payout schedule is not yet available.
Finance staff emphasized that opioid settlement money is restricted to opioid-remediation purposes. "The funds for this can only be used for opioid remediation efforts," staff said, and noted the amounts are relatively small on an annual basis: "You might be talking 1,200 to 1,400 a year," a presenter said when estimating what the settlement payments could provide annually.
Staff suggested the fund should accumulate until it is large enough to support a meaningful remediation project such as education, training, or community take-back events, rather than being spent on small, recurring items. Councilmembers acknowledged the constraint and that the fund likely will grow slowly over the 13-year distribution window.