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Date: 9/27/2022
WESTHAMPTON – Robbie Armenti voiced frustration with the Westhampton Selectboard at the Sept. 21 meeting of the Foothills Health District (FHD). Discussion turned to spending money from the federal settlement against drug company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and several marketing firms.
“When I start talking about it to my Selectboard I get big yawns,” Armenti said. “Nobody really wants to do anything about it.”
Armenti isn’t alone. Donna Gibson, chair of the Board of Health in Williamsburg, also saw little excitement over the payouts in her town.
“I can’t get a rise out of our Select Board about it at all, or the town administrator,” Gibson said.
According to Armenti, the payout for Westhampton will be about $4,000 this year, not a lot of money, hence the lukewarm response. But the funds add up if the four member towns in the health district pool their settlements. The pot may also be sweeter than local officials know because the first few payments can be combined.
According to the state’s website, the settlement payout to municipalities from J&J’s portion of the $26 billion decision can be taken in a lump sum this year, rather than municipalities receiving payments in fiscal year 2023 (FY23) through FY25. The combined payout, now the default choice for towns, then reaches respectable numbers, at least for the first year.
Whately will see an estimated payout of $13,894 this year if the town opts for the accelerated schedule. The payout next year will then be $2,412, with $3,019 in FY24 and FY25. Payouts to Whately from the settlement will total $66,068 when completed in 2038.
Goshen’s accelerated payout this year would be $911, with a payout next year of just $158. Annual payments increase to $198 and a little more, but the total of funds disbursed to the town by 2038 will be $4,331. Westhampton’s accelerated payment will be $8,816 this year, with payments in the next two years of $1,530 and $1,915. In total, Westhampton will receive $41,920 from the lawsuit.
Williamsburg receives the biggest payout among the four member towns. The accelerated payment this year – if the town opts in – will be $15,211. In Williamsburg in FY23 the town will receive $2,640, and another $3,015 coming in FY24. Distributions to the town will total $72,328.
The difficulties facing FHD officials, usually also members of local boards of health, are the small sums received and the short lifespan of the payments. Town officials hesitate to create a new position if funding lines are temporary, which limits options for securing personnel to counteract addiction. The limited buying power also limits the options for hiring subcontractors to create content or programming for the schools.
“My mind starts going toward the young people in our district,” Armenti said. “If we thought [about] each of our towns, how much money we have, and put it toward education or…projects, some kind of drama, arts, something,” the money will be put to good use.
Francis Fortino, chair of FHD and the Whately Board of Health, was aware that his town received about $2,200 in opioid settlement monies to this point. He suggested that town officials are waiting until a bigger pot is available before opening a formal discussion.
“It’s the first payout and they’re talking about putting it away, in Whately, until they get an idea and maybe a more significant amount,” Fortino said. “The towns can put it into some kind of related opioid resource [to] help alleviate this epidemic of opioid use and abuse.”
Gibson said, “I’m beginning to think maybe the best solution would be to take some kids to AA or NA meetings.”
Materials have been developed for educational outreach to schools, Fortino said, and Armenti knew about addiction-related services being offered by Snow Fire Farm. The Health Agent for FHP, Mark Bushee, was also aware of area resources.
“Biocitizen is a program for kids that would probably be interested,” Bushee said. “There’s Snow Fire Farm…that does a lot of stuff with kids, art-wise. Food for thought.”
Armenti agreed to lead the research to find options for spending opioid settlement monies. Fortino concluded the discussion by saying the timeline for expending the funds is generous, there’s no need to rush into any commitment.
“The AG’s [attorney general] website does show larger amounts,” Fortino said. “I don’t know when that will be coming in, but we will be working with the municipalities and pool resources to make a bigger impact. Given the larger lump sums, that will provide us more options.”