Council authorizes mayor to sign opioid settlements, limits authorization to four years

Lake Stevens will authorize the mayor to sign future opioid-settlement participation agreements under a resolution approved April 14, but the council added a four-year sunset to the delegated authority.

Matthew presented background on national and state opioid settlement distributions and described recent and anticipated payments: the city has received approximately $245,000 to date and expects additional distributions; one pending participation required an action by May 4 and was expected to yield roughly $3,000 as a one-time payment. Matthew recommended council approve a blanket authorization so staff need not bring each small, routine participation back to council.

Council member concerns about an open-ended delegation prompted an amendment requiring that the mayor’s signing authority expire in four years so any future council could re-evaluate the practice. The amendment passed, and the final resolution authorizes participation in opioid settlements and limits that delegation to four years from adoption.

Next steps: Staff will record the resolution and authorize the mayor pro tem (or mayor) to sign eligible participation forms under the resolution terms; staff will report incoming distributions and funding recommendations for opioid-remediation programs.