The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly enacted an ordinance accepting and appropriating the opioid settlement funds and establishing the opioid settlement fund grant program. The state agreed to a settlement agreement with three major distributors (including Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen) and one marketer and manufacturer of opioids (Johnson & Johnson) as part of a national settlement agreement. A previous resolution authorized the borough to join the settlement as one of the nine political subdivisions of the state.
Rachel Chaffee, Community & Fiscal Projects Manager tells the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly:
“The borough signed up with the nine political entities to receive opioid settlement funds. We’re receiving an amount through the state, through the opioid settlement, and this accepts and appropriates those funds and also stands up a grant program to which agencies, the hospital service areas, nonprofit entities, doctor’s offices, medical mental health providers, etc. will qualify under the grant program, as listed within the memo, can all apply for activities as allowable under the opioid settlement Attachment E.”
Approximately $58 million in settlement funds will be distributed to the state, 15% of which (approximately $8.7 million) will be distributed over 18 years to the nine political subdivisions of the state that signed onto the agreement. The allocation will be based on the borough’s population. The Kenai Peninsula Borough is set to receive 9.4922% of that $8.7 million. The Borough received opioid settlement funds in the amount of $29.167.84 from the state.
In addition, 15% of the settlement funds will go to the state and 70% of the settlement funds will be distributed to the Abatement Accounts Fund, which will be under the control and direction of the state.
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