Sequoyah County is in line to receive almost $250,000 in settlement funds from the state Attorney General’s Office.
The county commissioners admit they don’t really understand all the nuances of the “lawsuit,” but they’re not asking any questions. They’re glad to take the money.
“This is where a lot of different people joined in on this ‘lawsuit,’ I guess, so to speak,” District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers said at last Monday’s weekly meeting of the county commissioners.
“We did qualify, and we’re gonna get a pretty good lump sum,” he said.
Rogers said the settlement is for $5,869,727.23, but was quick to acknowledge that “we’re not getting all that.” He said the county’s part is “like $234,000, something of that sort.”
The funds come from the Opioid Distributor Settlement. Participating cities and counties elected to release claims against several major opioid manufacturers in exchange for financial compensation. This approach avoids potentially lengthy legal battles for non-litigating political subdivisions, while still allowing critical funds to be awarded.
Making the money available to communities across the state has been one of Attorney General Genter Drummond’s priorities since taking office last year. In July, Oklahoma received its fourth annual payment and a partial prepayment for the seventh year of the 18-year payment plan. “The opioid epidemic continues to harm every region of our state,” Drummond said. “Oklahomans from all walks are threatened by fentanyl and other deadly opioids. Cities and counties that opted to participate in the settlement finally will have the opportunity to fund critical remediation initiatives to fight against this dreadful epidemic.”
Settlement funds can be used for a variety of recovery and treatment programs, including education, prevention, drugs to reverse opioid overdoses and other opioid abatement initiatives.
Norman, McAlester and Tahlequah are set to receive the largest amount of funding with Norman eligible for more than $1 million, McAlester eligible for more than $350,000 and Tahlequah eligible for more than $261,000.
The final funding breakdown is determined by the population per capita, the number of opioid overdose deaths and the amount of opioids distributed in each area.
All three commissioners — District 1 Commissioner Ray Watts, District 2 Commissioner Beau Burlison and Rogers — volunteered to accept the proceeds for their district.
The commissioners also approved:
• A bid on county property lot 9 of block 6 by Dennis Dunigan. The bid of $611.81 is equal to the amount of tax due
• Surplussing a 2010 Ford brush truck from Brushy Fire Department in order to transfer it to Bokoshe Fire Department During the citizen’s presentation portion of the meeting, do-everything senior Robert Morris issued a call for paper sacks for use at the Sallisaw Nutrition Center. The paper bags are used for delivery of meals to the homebound. The Sallisaw Nutrition Center is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays for those wishing to donate paper sacks.
