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8 <br /> <br />county, including by holding an annual meeting with all municipalities in the <br />county in order to receive input as to proposed uses of the Opioid Settlement Funds <br />and to encourage collaboration between Local Governments both within and <br />beyond the county. These meetings shall be open to the public. <br /> <br />2. Participating Local Governments within the same County Area have a duty to <br />regularly consult with each other to coordinate spending priorities. <br /> <br />3. Participating Local Governments can form partnerships at the local level whereby <br />Participating Local Governments dedicate a portion of their Opioid Settlement <br />Funds to support city- or community-based work with local stakeholders and <br />partners within the Approved Uses. <br /> <br />F. Collaboration. The State and Participating Local Governments must collaborate to <br />promote effective use of Opioid Settlement Funds, including through the sharing of <br />expertise, training, and technical assistance. They will also coordinate with trusted <br />partners, including community stakeholders, to collect and share information about <br />successful regional and other high-impact strategies and opioid treatment programs. <br /> <br />V. Reporting and Compliance <br /> <br />A. Construction of reporting and compliance provisions. Reporting and compliance <br />requirements will be developed and mutually agreed upon by the Parties, utilizing the <br />recommendations provided by the Advisory Panel to the Attorney General on Distribution <br />and Allocation of Opioid Settlement Funds. <br /> <br />B. Reporting Workgroup. The Parties will work together to establish a Reporting Workgroup <br />that includes representatives of the Attorney General’s Office, state stakeholders, and city <br />and county representatives, who will meet on a regular basis to develop reporting and <br />compliance recommendations. The Reporting Workgroup must produce a set of reporting <br />and compliance measures by June 1, 2022. Such reporting and compliance measures will <br />be effective once approved by representatives of the Attorney General’s Office, the <br />Governor’s Office, the Association of Minnesota Counties, and the League of Minnesota <br />Cities that are on the Workgroup. <br /> <br />VI. Backstop Fund <br />A. National Attorney Fee Fund. The National Settlement Agreements provide for the payment <br />of all or a portion of the attorney fees and costs owed by Litigating Local Governments to <br />private attorneys specifically retained to file suit in the opioid litigation (“National <br />Attorney Fee Fund”). The Parties acknowledge that the National Settlement Agreements <br />may provide for a portion of the attorney fees of Litigating Local Governments. <br />B. Backstop Fund and Waiver of Contingency Fee. The Parties agree that the Participating <br />Local Governments will create a supplemental attorney fees fund (the “Backstop Fund”) <br />to be used to compensate private attorneys (“Counsel”) for Local Governments that filed <br />opioid lawsuits on or before December 3, 2021 (“Litigating Local Governments”). By