Lewiston opts in to opioid settlement

The city of Lewiston stands to get $50,000 to $60,000 per year for drug abatement after the partial settlement of a national class action lawsuit against opioid producers and distributors.

The Lewiston City Council voted unanimously Monday to join the settlement. If all eligible Idaho cities and counties join, the state will get about $119 million from the settlement over a period of nine to 17 years. If a proposed distribution formula is approved, 40 percent of the funds will go to local city and county governments, 40 percent will go to the state, and 20 percent will go to public health districts.

A trial in the lawsuit against 13 manufacturers and distributors began a few weeks ago. But four of the defendants have already agreed to settle: manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Their exit from the trial created the funds for the initial settlement. Overall, it will provide $26 billion to states for their opioid abatement efforts, according to Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

The Johnson & Johnson portion of the settlement will be paid over nine years, while the distributors have 17 years to pay their portions.

Under the proposed Idaho distribution, Lewiston would get approximately $968,000 over the distribution period, while the Public Health – Idaho North Central District would get $3.3 million. Since Public Health would get a much larger share of the settlement, Councilor John Pernsteiner suggested turning over the city’s portion to help bolster the district’s efforts to combat opioid addiction.

“It’s kind of ineffective for us to do anything, so I’d be really interested in partnering with public health,” Pernsteiner said.

By accepting the terms of the settlement, the city and state would release any and all claims against the four defendants.

In other business:

Assistant City Attorney Kayla Hermann updated the council on proposed revisions to the city codes regarding dangerous dogs and inoperable vehicles. The revisions of the dangerous dog code largely involve the removal of code regarding dogs attacking people because those offenses are now covered by the recent passage of the Idaho Dangerous and At-Risk Dogs Act. Lewiston’s revisions largely focus on when dogs attack other domesticated animals.

Proposed code now outlines the process for declaring a dog as “vicious” if they roam free and attack and/or kill other animals, or have a documented history of such behavior. That declaration would be made by the support services commander at the Lewiston Police Department, currently Capt. Jeff Klone. If he decides a dog qualifies as vicious, the owner has 14 days to remove the animal from the city limits or be subject to a misdemeanor citation. Declarations can be appealed to the city manager.

And while councilors indicated they were agreeable to those changes, they had more questions about proposed revisions to the inoperable vehicle code. Specifically, Pernsteiner questioned the definition of “junk” as so broad that it could include things like an unused pile of lumber in someone’s yard.

Councilors and the city legal department will discuss and fine-tune the proposal at future meetings.

Parks and Recreation Director Tim Barker updated the council on challenges to the city’s urban forestry program that have been pointed out at several meetings this year by concerned resident John Fisher.

Fisher has charged that the city has been neglecting its trees for decades, a problem that worsened under the hot and dry conditions that plagued the West this year. Barker said the level of care his department is able to provide is largely a function of personnel and funding. He said the city’s Urban Forestry and Cemetery Commission is focusing on ways to improve the situation, especially with long-term success in mind.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com