TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Jeffrey L. Oris, CEcD, Assistant City Manager
THROUGH: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: February 3, 2026
Title
PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COMMISSION OF INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE OPIOID SETTLEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
The City Commission is asked to receive a presentation on initial recommendations on the expenditure of Opioid Settlement Agreement Funds and to provide additional direction to the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee so that they may finalize their recommendations for expenditure of available funds.
Body
Background:
Florida, has experienced the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic which arose as a result of the manufacture, distribution, and over-prescribing of opioid analgesics and resulted in opioid overdoses, addictions, and in many cases, death. In response to this epidemic, and to hold manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids accountable for their respective contributions to the opioid crisis, legal action was filed by the State of Florida and a number of Florida cities and counties seeking damages from the resulting opioid epidemic. As a result of the Opioid Litigation, several named defendants agreed to payment of proceeds to settle various claims, much of which will be distributed over multiple years as part of a global settlement.
The City Commission, at their September 10, 2024 workshop meeting, accepted a suggestion that City Staff come back to the Commission with a recommendation on how to spend the Opioid Litigation Funds dispersed to the City to date and consider the creation of an advisory board to help determine the use of future funding and on November 19, 2024 the City Commission approved a plan to expend $158,000 of $239,554.27 that was available and they approved the formation of the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee (OSAC). In Early 2025, the City Commission appointed members to the OSAC whom then met for the first time in April of 2025.
OSAC has met several times since initial appointments to the Committee and they have begun to formulate a recommendation for expenditure of funds currently available. The purpose of this presentation is to inform the Commission of their initial thoughts on expenditures and seek additional guidance from the Commission as to whether the Commission believes they are heading in the right direction.
It is OSAC’s intent to gather feedback from the Commission and then finalize their recommendations to bring back to the Commission for approval. For the Commission's information, the City's Expenditures of Opioid Settlement Funds Policy, which includes the allowable uses of such funds, is attached to this agenda item.
City Attorney Review:
N/A
Funding Source/Financial Impact:
There is no current cost related to this presentation.
Timing of Request:
The OSAC is diligently working to provide expenditure recommendations so the Commission can be up-to-date on expenditure approvals and so that the Commission will be able to approve an expenditure plan for next year's funding in a timely manner.