FAIRBORN — Fairborn City Council Monday approved plans to settle with five distributors who have allegedly contributed to Ohio’s opioid epidemic.

The settlement comes as a result of Fairborn’s participation in the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, a plan put in place by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2017 and 2018 in an attempt to hold opioid distributors accountable for the opioid epidemic across Ohio.

The entities involved in this agreement are distributors TEVA, Walgreens, CVS, Allegran, and Walmart, which will contribute a collective amount of approximately $30,000.

According to both City Solicitor Michael Mayer and the Recovery Ohio website that outlines the Recovery Foundation, 55 percent of the settlement funds will go to the OneOhio foundation, 30 percent will go to local municipalities to build community support, and 15 percent will go directly to the state.

Mayer brought attention to this agreement on Monday, March 20, in order for the council to come to an agreement before the participation deadline of April 18.

“We joined together to hold those accountable,” Mayer said in Monday’s council meeting. “Let’s hold the party that created the opioid epidemic responsible for those costs.”

The resolution to approve this settlement was unanimously agreed upon by the city council, but there is no news as to when the distributors will pay, except that it will be after the deadline to participate.

According to Mayer, the initial $30,000 of the resolution could grow as “more and more” distributors agree to settle with the OneOhio Recovery Foundation.

Contact Ethan Charles at 937-502-4532.