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Burke County commissioners authorize county manager to sign opioid settlement documents to access additional funds
Summary
The Burke County Board of Commissioners authorized the county manager to sign agreements to join supplemental opioid manufacturer settlements and Purdue Pharma bankruptcy payouts, enabling the county to access additional abatement funds projected to raise total opioid-related receipts to roughly $28.2 million over 18 years.
The Burke County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 2 authorized the county manager to sign onto supplemental opioid manufacturer settlement agreements and documents tied to the Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 plan so the county may access additional opioid abatement funds.
The authorization follows an update from Dr. Katie Samuels, who briefed commissioners on the settlement framework. Samuels said Burke County earlier joined an MOA that distributed national manufacturer settlement funds, and later signed a first supplemental agreement that added several pharmacy and manufacturer defendants. She described a new supplemental agreement (SAF‑3) that, if enough counties join, would route additional money under the original MOA rules (15% to the state, 85% to counties) and a Purdue/Sackler Chapter 11 resolution that would add further funding if the county votes to accept the bankruptcy plan and join the direct-governmental settlement (GISA).
Samuels told the board the three waves of settlement activity plus the Purdue payments would increase Burke County’s 18-year opioid abatement receipts from about $24 million to roughly $28.2 million. She noted deadlines for local action: a vote on the Purdue Chapter 11 reorganization plan and submission of the GISA by Sept. 30, and the SAAF‑3 sign-on by Oct. 8. The settlements are governed by the county’s original MOA and funding is restricted to opioid abatement uses.
Commissioner David Stroud moved adoption of the resolution (numbered in meeting materials as 2025‑29) authorizing Burke County to enter the secondary opioid manufacturer settlements, to approve SAAF‑3, and to approve the Purdue bankruptcy plan and related settlement agreements; the motion also authorized the county manager to execute associated documents subject to county attorney review. The motion passed.
The resolution delegates authority to the county manager to execute settlement forms so that the county can meet the external sign‑on deadlines and begin receiving allocations under the settlement schedules. Samuels and staff said the money must be deposited into the county’s special revenue fund and be used only for opioid abatement, per the original MOA language presented to the board.
No formal amendment to the scope of eligible uses was proposed at the meeting. Commissioners asked no follow-up questions during the presentation and recorded no dissent during the vote.
The county will next complete required paperwork and legal review to finalize sign-on and then await scheduled settlement distributions under the various settlement schedules.
