Greenwich To Receive Nearly $25K Per Year From Opioid Settlement

GREENWICH, CT ? As part of a $26 billion settlement with Johnson & Johnson and major pharmaceutical distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen over the nationwide opioid crisis, the town of Greenwich will receive a payment of $24,819.34 per year over the next 18 years.

During the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation's regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, the board unanimously voted to accept the funds, an action that was needed for the town to complete the process of receiving the first payment.

The first payment is expected to arrive on Aug. 2 for the current fiscal year. BET member and Law Committee Chair Karen Fassuliotis noted that the committee decided it would craft a resolution for the successive payments next year.

Fassuliotis said the acceptance of the money by the BET does not constitute an allocation of the funds.

Money from the settlement will be used to support and fund programs aimed at combating the opioid crisis. Town Comptroller Peter Mynarski and Human Services Commissioner Demetria Nelson will determine where exactly the money should go.

Fassuliotis explained that Nelson is expected to work with town departments and the Board of Education to determine what programs require supplemental funds to combat opioid addiction.

At that point, its anticipated that Nelson will come back before the BET and the Representative Town Meeting to allocate the money.

Connecticut alone will receive approximately $300 million over the next 18 years as part of the landmark settlement, which was originally announced in July 2021.

"This settlement?among the largest in U.S. history?brings billions of dollars back into our communities to begin to heal the devastation of the opioid epidemic," Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a news release last July.

Gov. Ned Lamont said in a news release last July that the money "will be an incredible support in our state and local efforts to halt opioid addiction before it starts, and get help to those who need it most."