Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Opioid Settlements topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Burke County authorizes county manager to sign on to additional opioid settlement agreements and Purdue bankruptcy plan
Summary
Burke County commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the county manager to sign supplemental opioid settlement agreements and participate in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement, actions county staff said will expand local opioid-abatement funding.
Burke County commissioners on Sept. 2 voted 5-0 to authorize the county manager to sign supplemental opioid settlement agreements and to participate in the Purdue Pharma LP bankruptcy plan, moves county staff said are intended to increase funds available for local opioid abatement.
The vote authorizes the county manager to execute documents enabling Burke County to join a new supplemental agreement (referred to in the presentation as SAF 3) with additional manufacturers and distributors and to submit forms required under the Purdue bankruptcy’s governmental-entity settlement (GISA). Dr. Katie Samuels presented the update and asked the board for authorization so the county could meet upcoming deadlines.
Samuels said the original distributor memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed in November 2021 and later supplemental agreements have already produced settlement funding delivered to counties under a fixed framework. With previous waves of settlements and supplements, Samuels said, Burke County had secured about $24 million in expected disbursements across an 18-year schedule. The new SAF 3 and additional Purdue payments, she said, would raise the county’s total projected opioid-abatement funds to roughly $28.2 million over the established distribution period.
Samuels gave a timeline for action: the vote on Purdue’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan must be cast by Sept. 30, and the SAF 3 sign-on deadline is Oct. 8. She also described the overall national settlements that underlie the local distributions, saying the national Purdue settlement was about $7.4 billion and that North Carolina’s share of the Purdue-related distribution is projected at approximately $150 million (figures presented by staff during the briefing).
Commissioner Stroud moved the resolution, which the clerk recorded as adopted by a 5-0 vote. The motion authorized the county manager to execute associated documents subject to review by the county attorney.
County staff said the settlement framework requires opioid-abatement funds to be deposited in a special revenue fund and to be used only for abatement activities consistent with the original MOA. Staff noted that distributions occur over many years and that some payments will begin in early 2026 as part of the larger national schedule.
The board took no additional conditions or amendments to the authorization. Staff indicated attorney review had been completed and reminded the board of the calendar deadlines for the Purdue plan vote and the SAF 3 sign-on.
Ending — The authorization means the county will be positioned to receive additional opioid-abatement funding if the required signatures and bankruptcy plan votes meet their deadlines. Staff said they will return with implementation steps for how the county intends to use the funds under the MOA’s abatement restrictions.
