Council to hear city's plan for spending millions in opioid settlement funds

During March 24th's Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee meeting, Councilmembers will hear the city's plan for spending millions of dollars in opioid settlement money.

As presentation materials for the meeting show, the city wants to invest in several long-term strategies, including supportive housing and wrap-around treatment services, among other priorities. Here's what to know:

How much money and where is it coming from?

Research has shown that, for 25 years, pharmaceutical companies deceptively promoted opioid use in ways that were neither safe nor effective. That widespread industry practice contributed to unprecedented increases in prescribing, opioid use disorder and deaths by overdose

As explained by the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, companies such as Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger are now being held responsible for the central role they played in the crisis and are paying billions of dollars to resolve lawsuits with state and local governments across the country.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government signed on to that effort in 2017, joining more than 30,000 municipal plaintiffs in a lawsuit, presentation materials for the March 24th Budget, Finance and Economic Development meeting note.

LFUCG currently holds almost $9 million in opioid lawsuit money. It expects to receive approximately $30 million over an 18-year period. The first payment came in December 2022.

That money must be spent on efforts to address the opioid crisis, such as opioid detox and recovery services, drug take-back programs, job training and related programs.

What is the city's plan for spending the money?

A commission convened by the mayor met monthly for two years to develop recommendations for spending opioid settlement money. The recommendations were submitted to Mayor Linda Gorton for her review.

According to presentation materials for Tuesday's committee meeting, the city has outlined several priorities moving forward. These include:

1. Create an interest-bearing account, allowing the money the city has on hand to grow over time while waiting for the rest. The interest can be reinvested into prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts.
2. Fund housing and treatment services. The money can be used for temporary and permanent supportive housing that includes wrap-around services for those in recovery.
3. Support services for LFUCG Community Corrections, which operates the Fayette County Detention Center. Money would go toward supporting treatment services, counseling, and re-entry to reduce recidivism and overdoses among incarcerated people.
4. Start a community grant program for local non-profits. They would be offered in a tiered structure for annual micro grants and biennial macro grant offerings.
5. Contribute to Lexington's harm reduction efforts. One example is ongoing support for mobile distribution of naloxone, a life-saving medication that rapidly reverses overdoses.
6. Host an opioid response and recovery conference. The event would bring together people with lived experience, community partners and addiction/behavioral health professionals with the shared goal of improving Lexington's response to the problem.