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The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved using $609,699 from an opioid settlement to hire staff for the city’s drug enforcement team.
The city has received $3.2 million in such settlement funds as part of suits brought against the companies that profited from the nation’s opioid epidemic, according to city officials.
City attorney Nicole King told the council that the money approved Tuesday comes from a $97.6 million settlement with six pharmaceutical supply chain companies. Those companies are Associated Pharmacies Inc.; J M Smith Corp.; Louisiana Wholesale Drug Co.; Morris and Dickson Co.; North Carolina Mutual Wholesale Drug Co.; and United Natural Foods Inc.
More than 5,000 municipalities stand to receive money from the suit, according to a list on a website associated with the settlement.
Birmingham’s portion will go to hire staff to assist its Drug Nuisance and Abatement Team, which is tasked with disrupting the sale of drugs and similar illegal activities in residential neighborhoods, according to city staff.
The global sum of settlements reached between U.S., state, local and tribal governments and pharmaceutical opioid corporations is $58.58 billion, according to Opioid Settlement Tracker.
More than 1 million have died from drug overdoses in the U.S. since 1999, according to data tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As much as 80% of those deaths involved opioids.
Road Closure in Highland Area
The council also set a public hearing to consider the permanent closure of 900 feet of roadway along Woodcrest Road South and Warick Court South to the intersection of 21st Way South and 15th Avenue South.
The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 17, during the council’s regularly scheduled meeting at City Hall.
According to Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, who chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, this section of road has been closed with temporary barriers for several years due to unsafe conditions, including cracks along the roadway and unstable slopes.
“I’m not aware of any plans for repairs at this time. I have spoken to staff, and this is from my own perspective, that we maintain this public right-of-way through this location in order to have emergency access for first responders,” O’Quinn said. “Because this is a connection between Highland Avenue and 21st Street, it’s an important connection from an emergency services perspective so we can be able to get into that area should the need arise.”