The city of Columbia has received millions of dollars of settlement money in recent months, but officials have not yet made public concrete plans for how the funding will be allocated.
A recent settlement with Brightspeed Communications, which provides internet services in mid-Missouri, gave the city $14.3 million. But the city won't distribute the money until an ongoing budget deficit is addressed.
Though the impact has not been immediate, the funds from the settlement will be allocated for purposes the Columbia City Council deems beneficial, City Counselor Nancy Thompson said.
The settlement stems from issues with unpaid licensing taxes and fees the company owed the city.
Since there were no restrictions placed on how the proceeds from the Brightspeed settlement are spent, expenditures may not be specifically tracked once funds are allocated, Thompson said.
Columbia has also received nearly $570,000 as part of nationwide settlements regarding the opioid crisis, Thompson said. The city joins over 3,000 other local and state governments in the settlements against opiate manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson and distributors, which resulted in $26 billion distributed across municipalities and states over an 18-year payment period.
Columbia has been collecting its share of the settlement money since 2022, and it's estimated that the city will receive close to $1.5 million by the end of the payment period, Thompson said.
Thompson said the city is approved to use the funds from the opioid-related settlements for addiction treatment and prevention services or law enforcement costs related to the crisis.
Columbia has not yet allocated the opioid litigation settlement money, Matthew Lue, the city's finance director, said.
Treatment facility leader weighs in
For the money the city received from the opioid litigation settlements, Robert Marsh, the CEO of CenterPointe Hospital of Columbia, said he hoped the funding would be used to expand access to addiction services. CenterPointe is an inpatient mental health and addiction treatment center.
"Everybody should have access to that care, and we want to make sure they get it," Marsh said.
Marsh said the hospital is open to establishing a partnership with the city in the future.
