MOUNT VERNON — The first of 18 annual payments is on the way to local governments participating in Ohio’s opioid settlement.
The payments represent the first round of money from the $808 million OneOhio settlement with Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmeriSource Bergen pharmaceutical companies. Knox County received its first payment of $26,924.64 last week.
According to settlement documents, municipalities must spend the funds on expanding treatment for individuals dealing with substance abuse, substance abuse education and prevention, and supporting addiction recovery services.
These services include the workforce, first responders, the justice system, and children. Children’s services include supportive housing and other residential services to serve children living apart from custodial parents or placed in foster care due to custodial opioid use.
The commissioners will allocate the $26,924.64 to Knox County Job & Family Services to offset drug dependency testing and placement costs.
“They took the biggest hit, and they are trying to catch up,” Commissioner Thom Collier explained. “We’re trying to supplement JFS with general fund money vs putting another levy on.”
The state will disburse the money in waves. The City of Mount Vernon is slated to receive $7,917.75 in this first wave; the Village of Centerburg will receive $357.30.
In 2017, as Ohio Attorney General, Governor Mike DeWine was one of the first in the nation to sue opioid makers and drug distributors for their role in flooding the market with massive amounts of highly addictive opioids. About 2,000 other local governments joined the suit in a unified effort called OneOhio. The parties settled in July 2021.
In addition to the OneOhio settlement, Ohio will receive $186 million over 15 years from Johnson & Johnson. The J&J settlement will be distributed the same as the OneOhio settlement: 30% to local governments, 15% to the state, and 55% to the OneOhio Recovery Foundation
Following are Knox County governments that opted into the settlement and the estimated amount each will receive over 18 years.
•Knox County: $439,290.62
•Centerburg: $5,829.54
•Danville: $3,078.00
•Fredericktown: $7,858.22
•Gambier: $2,728.22
•Gann: $46.64
•Mount Vernon: $129,182.55
•Martinsburg: $23.32
Townships
•Brown: $5,503.08
•College: $4,034.04
•Harrison: $23.32
•Howard: $69.95
•Jefferson: $886.09
•Liberty: $536.32
•Middlebury: $396.41
•Miller: $1,212.54
•Monroe: $3,078.00
•Morgan: $1,888.77
•Morris: $46.64
•Pleasant: $6,435.81
