The Pierce County Board unanimously passed a resolution March 28 authorizing Pierce County to enter into settlement agreements with several pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail pharmacy chains to recoup costs associated with combating the opioid epidemic.

The resolution authorizes the county to enter into settlement agreements with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Allergan Finance LLC, Walgreen Co., Walmart Inc., CVS Health Corporation and CVS Pharmacy Inc. and into a memorandum of understanding with the attorney general about how the funds will be disbursed.

Corporate Counsel Brad Lawrence reminded the board it passed a resolution in 2017 authorizing the county to pursue litigation against certain manufacturers, distributors and retailers of opioid pharmaceuticals to hold them financially responsible for the county’s use of resources to combat the opioid epidemic.

Law firms filed similar lawsuits on behalf of 66 other Wisconsin counties and all Wisconsin cases were coordinated with thousands of other lawsuits filed against the same or similar parties.

Settlement discussions with the companies listed above resulted in a tentative agreement as to settlement terms, pending agreement from all plaintiffs.

Per state law, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance is required to approve the settlement agreements and the MOU. The proceeds are to be distributed 70% to local governments in Wisconsin and 30% to the state. The money must be deposited in a segregated account (the “Opioid Abatement Account”) and can only be used for approved opioid abatement purposes.

The MOU is an agreement between all entities as to how the proceeds will be allocated, similar to the allocation that took place in the settlements involving McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutifcals Inc.

Lawrence said the previous settlement with distributors will net the county about $1 million. While numbers for this settlement aren’t finalized, he’s expecting the number to be roughly $872,000.

“There’s also other things they’re committing to, such as changes in their policies and the way they deal with customers, etc., trying to formulate positive changes to combat the epidemic,” Lawrence said. “There is probably at least one more set of settlements coming primarily with manufacturers, although many of them are going bankrupt.”

On Jan. 24, Chair Jon Aubart appointed the following to an Ad Hoc Community Opioid Settlement Fund Utilization Committee, to best determine how to use the funds: County Board Supervisor Angela Mathison, Human Services Director Julie Krings, Public Health Director AZ Snyder, Sheriff Chad Koranda and Assistant Finance Director Michelle Drury.

Other business

• Assistant Park Superintendent Travis Campbell, who has worked for the county parks department since 2007, will fill the Park Superintendent role vacated by Scott Schoepp upon his February retirement. Campbell has prior park ranger and law enforcement experience. Five applicants applied for the position.
• The board approved an ordinance and amended county code to allow the Pierce County Highway Department to purchase equipment up to $350,000 without full board approval. The previous amount of $75,000 was established in 1971; the equivalent in 2023 dollars is $549,624. This will allow the department to be competitive when pursuing used equipment at a lower cost.
• The board approved transferring $36,000 from the general fund to cover the 2022 district attorney’s office budget deficit. The deficit occurred due to one employee opting to change from single coverage health insurance to family and the department hiring a professional expert for a serious child felony case.