Burnsville Is Using Opioid Settlement Money to Plug U of M Doctors Into Its Mental Health Response
TLDR
Burnsville just unanimously approved a new pilot program with University of Minnesota Physicians. The U's psychiatric and psychological specialists will help the city's police and fire departments handle the hardest mental health and substance use cases.
It's paid for with opioid settlement money — no general fund dollars involved.
The goal: stop the cycle of crisis → ER → release → crisis again.
This one came out of the consent agenda at Tuesday night's Burnsville City Council meeting — but Mayor Elizabeth Kautz pulled it out on purpose. She wanted residents to know about it.
The short version: Burnsville is now paying University of Minnesota Physicians to provide psychiatric and psychological case consultations to its police department's Behavioral Health Unit and its fire department's Critical Response Resource team. The money comes from opioid settlement funds — the pot of cash Minnesota cities get as part of the national settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors.
The vote was unanimous. Here's what it actually means for Burnsville.
How the Partnership Works
Fire Chief BJ Jungmann laid out the problem first. Burnsville's Behavioral Health Unit and Critical Response Resource team already respond to people in mental health and substance use crises. But they hit walls on the most complex cases — situations where someone might be on complicated psychiatric medications, or dealing with serious mental illness that first responders aren't trained to assess.
Until now, the default option was the emergency room. Responders would transport someone to the ER, the hospital would stabilize them and release them, and then the same person would end up back in crisis a few weeks later. The cycle didn't break.
The new partnership gives Burnsville's teams direct access to U of M specialists for case consultations and patient assessments. When a complex case comes in, the teams can call a specialist and get real guidance — what medication might be at play, what level of care the person actually needs, and which facility or program is the right fit.
"We aren't their long-term solution, but we can help them in crisis," Jungmann said at the meeting. The point is the initial assessment that gets someone on the right track.
Why This Is Unusual
The U doesn't normally do this. Jungmann called it a "unique approach" — Burnsville is essentially the pilot case. If it works here, other cities across Minnesota could copy the model.
This also builds on work Burnsville has done for years. The city already runs a full-time firefighter paramedic position funded through opioid settlement money, and that position has been embedded with the long-running Behavioral Health Unit on the police side. The U of M partnership is the next layer — specialist backup for the frontline teams.
Mayor Kautz praised the collaboration between police and fire. "You save lives," she told Jungmann and Deputy Police Chief Matt Smith during the meeting. "We are so happy that you choose to lead."
Where the Money Comes From — and Where It Doesn't
This is the detail Kautz kept emphasizing. "We're using opioid money and it's not coming out of the general fund just so our residents know how this is being done."
Quick background: Minnesota cities started getting opioid settlement money a few years ago as part of the national litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Burnsville's share is around $1.1 million paid out over roughly 18 years, and the funds can only be used on opioid-related prevention, treatment, and response. The partnership with U of M Physicians fits squarely inside that box — a long list of allowed uses includes connecting people to mental health and substance use treatment after a crisis.
For more context, Burnsville originally voted against accepting opioid settlement money in 2021 before reversing course in early 2022 — you can read the full backstory on that decision if you want the history.
How This Stacks Up Against Other South Metro Programs
Burnsville isn't the only city using creative programs to keep police out of mental health calls. Lakeville's PD crisis program kept police out of 88% of mental health calls in its first year. These programs all share the same insight: getting the right specialist involved early prevents a lot of downstream harm.
What makes Burnsville's approach different is the specialist backup layer. Most mental health response teams are frontline-only. The U of M partnership plugs in an expert consultation layer — specifically for the cases that are too complex for general-purpose mental health responders.
The Bottom Line
This is a pilot. Watch for updates from Burnsville over the next year on how many cases the partnership touches and what outcomes look like. If it works, expect other south metro cities to adopt similar models fast. Want to see more of how Burnsville is thinking about community services? Our recap of the city's efforts to help residents find homes shows the broader pattern.
FAQ
Is this costing me anything on my property tax bill?
No. The funding comes from the national opioid settlement — money paid by drug manufacturers and distributors as part of a lawsuit. It's legally restricted to opioid-related uses and cannot be used for anything else.
Who actually gets helped by this?
Residents who are in crisis — particularly with mental health or substance use issues that are too complex for general emergency response. First responders will still be the ones on scene, but they'll now have specialist backup available for the hardest cases.
Will this replace the ER for mental health calls?
No. It's about routing people to the right long-term care after the initial crisis, instead of the ER being the default endpoint. Some people will still need the ER. But the hope is fewer repeat visits.
When does the program actually start?
The council just approved it on April 21, 2026. Rollout happens with U of M Physicians as a pilot — no hard start date was announced at the meeting.
Has Burnsville done something like this before?
The Behavioral Health Unit inside the police department has been around for a while, and the city already funds a firefighter paramedic position through opioid settlement money. The U of M partnership is the next layer on top of that existing work.
