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City attorney updates council on Kroger opioid settlement; participation deadline set
Summary
City staff briefed the council on a state-level settlement with Kroger over opioid-related claims and asked council to consider opting in by a February deadline; the council asked staff to circulate a municipal order and more detailed breakdowns of prior settlement receipts.
The city attorney updated the Georgetown City Council about a recent settlement negotiated by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office with Kroger related to pharmaceutical-distribution litigation and asked council members to decide whether to join the statewide settlement by the statutory deadline.
Staff explained that, under Kentucky law implementing opioid settlements, the state receives half of settlement proceeds and the remaining funds are distributed among local governments that opt in. The city’s outside counsel for opioid matters (the docketed law firm is Grafhorn Law Office, Bay Cook Cantley & Nevesker) advised that the deadline to submit participation paperwork is Feb. 17. City attorney staff said they would draft a municipal order for the council to consider at their next meeting, and that councilors could defer for a later decision if they wished to gather more information.
Councilors asked about past uses of opioid settlement money; staff said prior settlement funds have been used locally to fund a recovery-support coordinator position embedded with the Georgetown Police Department and to support a police recovery-support team. Staff said settlement proceeds must be used on opioid-abatement and recovery-related activities and that outside legal fees paid under prior settlements were a documented expense.
Council members asked for a municipal order draft for the next meeting and requested a breakdown of projected and historical settlement payments, and how prior funds were spent. Staff agreed to circulate a draft municipal order and supporting information.
