MORGANTOWN — Local officials knew the first round of opioid settlement dollars allocated directly to cities and counties would be the largest they’d likely see.
Even so, Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom said Wednesday the body was somewhat surprised to see how much smaller future payments will be.
More than $900 million in settlement dollars will flow into West Virginia in the coming years following a string of settlements with companies sued for their roles contributing to the state’s crippling opioid crisis.
Of those dollars, 24.5% will be disbursed directly to cities and counties based on percentages agreed upon in the memorandum of understanding between the state and local governments.
The first check the Monongalia County Commission received was for $1,019,972.50.
Going forward, however, the West Virginia Attorney General’s office estimates the county will receive less than $200,000 annually in each of the next five years.
The numbers range from $126,284.98 in 2025 to $197,250.85 in both 2026 and 2027.
The projected total coming to the county over that span is $869,753.93.
Over that same five-year stretch, the state anticipates collecting just under $334 million dollars through settlements with Allergan, CVS, Teva, Kroger, Walgreens, Walmart and Amneal.
An accompanying letter from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey explains those numbers are all subject to change as they don’t reflect expected payments from Purdue Pharma or Endo Solutions Inc due to the uncertainty of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
“We did see the numbers and it’s much less than what we received the first time,” Bloom said. “I think we just need to be aware of that. We appreciate the funds coming in, but it isn’t the same amount of money that we thought we’d be getting.”
In July, the commission disbursed $626,900 of its initial allocation to 13 agencies after a two-month grant process. The county has $393,072 remaining.
Projected five-year totals for municipalities include Granville ($95,704.44); Morgantown ($77,319.03); Star City ($24,005.60) and Westover ($5,453.91).
The majority of the settlement dollars (72.5%) will go to the West Virginia First Foundation for disbursement statewide.
In other news from Wednesday’s meeting, the commission announced a property auction to be held at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 11 on the second floor of the sheriff’s building, at 116 Walnut St.
“This is a listing of all the properties that weren’t sold at prior tax sales. They’ve been held in inventory for the state … some of them go back into the 80s that these properties have been sitting there,” Commissioner Jeff Arnett said.
“It works a little differently with this auction. If you bid on it and buy it, you own it rather than going through the process of notice, and weeks and months of obtaining a deed from the auditor. This is a much more streamlined process. These properties have basically escheated to the state at this point.”
