The Hennepin County administration and budget committee on Nov. 10 approved an administrator amendment to reconcile prior allocations of opioid settlement proceeds and to provide forward authorization for spending in 2026.

Chief Financial Officer Joe Matthews told the committee the amendment is a reconciliation of allocations that were previously approved and that the settlement dollars the county received from a national lawsuit are allocated on a non-lapsing basis to categories identified in the county’s implementation plan. "This is really just a supplemental appropriation and allocation within that," Matthews said, adding that "the total spend in the 2026 budget of opioid funds is approximately $4,700,000." The funds remain available until expended, he said.

Commissioner Connolly pressed staff on whether the state memorandum of agreement (MOA) governs how the county may spend the settlement proceeds and raised concerns that some prevention-related categories (for example, connections to care and perinatal supports) appear reduced while money for medical-examiner postmortem work remains significant. "I really think that a lot of money should go into prevention," Connolly said, and asked whether key prevention categories would continue to be funded.

Staff responded that counties sign a settlement MOA with the state attorney general’s office that governs eligible uses and implementation. County staff said medical-examiner costs are eligible under the MOA because opioid deaths result in increased autopsy-related expenses; those costs also support family closure and data collection. Staff offered to provide more detailed information about remaining balances in each strategy category.

The committee approved the amendment by voice vote. Staff were directed to provide a breakdown of remaining balances by strategy and said they would follow up with additional detail for commissioners ahead of the Dec. 2 meeting.