Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council authorizes administrative signoff for incoming opioid settlement agreements; directs continued program use
Summary
Reno approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute future opioid‑related settlement agreements on behalf of the city, allowing administrative handling of smaller settlements and continuing use of settlement money for abatement programming.
The Reno City Council on Aug. 27 voted to authorize the mayor to sign future opioid‑litigation settlement agreements where the city is a party, a step staff said will streamline processing as new settlements come in.
City Attorney staff explained that the state attorney general’s office has organized Nevada jurisdictions under a single‑state approach to opioid litigation and that more defendants (distributors and retailers) were entering the settlement pipeline. The resolution gives the mayor the authority to execute subsequent settlement documents rather than returning each small settlement to council as a separate agenda item; staff said that approach is intended to be purely administrative because the city is already a party to the statewide agreement.
During the briefing, staff said multiple smaller settlements are in the pipeline. Councilmember Ebert asked about uses of the money; staff said settlement proceeds are earmarked for opioid‑abatement programming and described a menu of eligible uses (prevention, treatment navigation, naloxone distribution, wraparound services). Staff cited existing programmatic allocations already in place, including approximately $1,000,000 previously directed to local opioid efforts and funding approved under a related consent item (B‑14) for PRSS/behavioral‑health programs.
Public commenters at the meeting — including representatives of Crossroads and the Domestic Violence Resource Center — used the public‑comment period to urge continued funding for peer recovery support specialists, treatment navigation and domestic‑violence trauma services; the council approved several related consent items earlier in the meeting.
Council voted unanimously to allow the mayor to sign future opioid settlements on the city’s behalf and to continue implementing abatement programming consistent with the settlements’ eligible uses.
Ending
City staff said they will return with administrative updates as settlements are finalized and with program reports describing how settlement dollars are allocated locally.
