AUSTINTOWN — Township trustees on Monday passed a motion that will make additional opioid settlement dollars available to the state and local governments.

The first nationwide settlements with companies determined to be responsible for the opioid abuse epidemic were approved in 2021.

Ohio will likely receive about $2 billion over 18 years from settlements with Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walgreens, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., and McKinsey & Co.

Purdue Pharma also was among those found liable and a settlement was reached with them as well, valued at about $7.4 billion, and Ohio and local communities in the state will receive about $198 million from that purse.

But it comes with an added step.

The Participation Forms require state and local governments to pass individual motions to join the settlement and receive their share of the funds. These forms are necessary for determining each entity’s eligibility and calculating payment amounts.

“They wanted their own form submitted for this particular aspect of the opioid litigation,” said Austintown Township Administrator Mark D’Apolito. “We did the blanket agreement early on with everyone else, but as to Purdue and the Sackler family, they wanted this additional form.”

The deadline for submitting the participation form for the Purdue Direct Settlement is Sept. 30.

OneOhio is the foundation that was formed to manage Ohio’s share of the multi-billion-dollar settlements reached with the pharmaceutical industry. OneOhio made more than $51 million available across the state this year.

Region 7, comprising Mahoning and Trumbull counties, received about $2.8 million to help fund substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery projects.

The OneOhio Plan divides the money into three buckets: 55% to the OneOhio Recovery Foundation for distribution through the grant process; 30% to local governments, which goes directly to townships, villages, cities, and counties to address their opioid-specific needs; and 15% to the State of Ohio for prevention, treatment, and recovery support services.

“It’s kind of like the COVID (American Rescue Plan) money, where we’re getting it back two different ways,” D’Apolito said.

The settlements require that at least 85% of the funds be spent on opioid remediation efforts, like expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder, naloxone distribution, treatment facilities, and stigma reduction training.

“The money cannot be used for enforcement,” D’Apolito said. “It must be used for community treatment efforts, to help the children of the epidemic, things like that.”

So far, he said, Austintown has received about $95,000 in opioid settlement dollars.

“I’m saving this in a special fund and we’re waiting to come up with something that can make a real difference in the community,” he said. “We’re keeping it aside and waiting for that big project that comes along. I want to make a lasting impact with it, because it’s a one-time funding opportunity to do something meaningful.”