County staff updated the Board of Commissioners on municipal participation in opioid settlements and asked the board to elect to participate in two tentative settlements before the Sept. 30 election deadline.

A county official on the phone said Concord — one of 17 North Carolina municipalities that received its own allocation — intends to add its allocation to Cabarrus County’s pooled funds. The official said Concord will vote on its allocation this month and, once it does, the county can collect those funds into the county’s collective pot.

Separately, Doug Hall summarized two tentative settlements: one with Purdue and affiliated entities (including the Sackler family) and another with eight additional manufacturers. As with a prior Sandoz settlement, Hall said the municipalities do not yet know the dollar figure each locality would receive; final amounts depend on how many municipalities elect to participate. Hall asked the board to elect to participate in the tentative settlements now; the exact county share will be calculated and presented later so the board can vote to accept or decline the specific settlement amounts.

Why this matters: Municipal participation determines local distribution of future settlement proceeds that can fund addiction treatment, prevention and related public-health programs. The board’s election to participate does not commit the county to accept any final dollar amount until the exact allocation is known.

The board moved the election decision to the consent agenda; staff will upload election selections and report back when exact dollar figures are calculated.