MT. HOPE, WV (WOAY)- The City of Mount hope held a special council meeting today at 5 to consider the future use of the town’s share of the opioid settlement funds.
At the special council meeting. They had announced that they will be getting $62,000 this year from the opioid settlement and that for the next ten years they will be receiving yearly payments. But each year, the percentage will be different depending on how much they get from the pharmaceutical companies. They are currently still in question about how the money will be spent.
The settlement is from a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies filed by Attorney General Patrick Morrissey on behalf of the state of West Virginia. The money from the settlement is being distributed to communities across the state by the new West Virginia First Foundation.
Mt. Hope being one of affected communities. The mayor of Mt. Hope explains why this is important.
“Well, I guess all communities have been affected alike. I mean, not only the community and whole, but just a number of individuals in lives and friends and family members that just took a devastating toll on the community,” said Michael Kessinger, Mayor of Mt. Hope. “You know, we see a lot of lost souls, a lot of sad cases.”
They hope to have a plan of how they will disperse the money come the next council meeting.
