Weymouth Council restructures opioid settlement fund, refers $5M road borrowing

WEYMOUTH -- March 11, 2024, Weymouth Town Council voted Monday to scrap an unwieldy opioid settlement stabilization fund and replace it with a flexible special revenue account capable of receiving more than $1 million in settlement payments from distributors and pharmacy chains including CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, with some payments running through 2038. Chief of Staff Ted Langell told the nine-member council that the original fund had forced settlement money to fall to free cash before it could be spent on prevention, treatment, and recovery, a problem resolved by a December 2023 state law change. The council voted unanimously to revoke the stabilization fund under measure 24-005 and had earlier held a public hearing on the companion measure 24-006 establishing the new account. Langell also announced a five-member opioid abatement working group, including Police Chief Richard Fuller, that will review public spending proposals submitted through the town website. The council separately referred a proposed $5 million road and sidewalk borrowing and a $928,005 Adams School repurposing transfer to the Budget Management Committee, which meets March 18.