Bellmawr Borough
Bellmawr Borough spent every settlement dollar that has left its account, 22,480.00, on a police dog and a kennel, filed no FY2026 report, and told the State it held 0.00 when it held all it received.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Bellmawr Borough has paid 22,480.00 out of its opioid settlement account. All of it bought a police dog and a kennel.
- The dog cost 16,000.00. The kennel cost 6,480.00.
- A year earlier the Borough told the State it would buy a K-9 in December 2025. It bought one on 12/31/2025.
- The Borough filed no FY2026 report. The State's page for that year reads No Report Received.
- No overdose program using the dog appears in any record.
- The FY2024 report says the Borough received 70,933.36, spent nothing and had 0.00 on hand.
- The FY2025 report puts 130.00 less on hand than the Borough received, with nothing spent.
Summary
Bellmawr Borough, Camden County, reported receiving 74,146.85 in opioid settlement money and interest through 06/30/2025. The money must go to the abatement uses the national settlements list, or to documented evidence-based programs that address the epidemic. It must add to local spending, not replace it.
The Borough's settlement account is G-02-00-745-002, Opioid Settlement Grant. From its opening on 04/27/2023 to 09/01/2026 it paid 22,480.00 net. Both purchases are police K-9 costs. No report to the State covers them. Read the Borough's findings.
What the Borough received
The reports give these figures.
| Report | Received in the year | Received since 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 25,600.80 | |
| FY2024 | 45,205.02, plus 127.54 interest | 70,933.36 |
| FY2025 | 3,210.99, plus 2.50 interest | 74,146.85 |
| FY2026 | No Report Received |
The account shows less. It carries appropriations of 23,807.54, made on 04/27/2023 and 05/23/2024, and one 3,210.99 reimbursement check received on 09/30/2024. That is 27,018.53. The FY2025 receipt figure matches that check to the cent. The Borough did not produce a revenue account for settlement receipts.
What the Borough told the State
The FY2023, FY2024 and FY2025 reports each certify 0.00 expended and 0.00 encumbered. The books agree. Nothing left the account before 09/25/2025. A 10,350.00 order to Seton Hall University for Operational Readiness was opened on 03/25/2025 and voided on 04/22/2025, so nothing was open at 06/30/2025.
The FY2024 report says the Police Chief was "currently working on programs." It certifies 70,933.36 received since 2022, 0.00 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 0.00 on hand. The account paid nothing that year. Money that was received and never spent was still there. The FY2025 report shows it, listing 74,016.85 on hand. FY2024 report put 0.00 on hand after spending nothing.
The FY2025 figure does not add up either. That report certifies 74,146.85 received with interest, and 0.00 spent or encumbered. It puts 74,016.85 on hand, 130.00 less. Nothing on the report or in the account explains the gap. FY2025 on-hand figure is 130.00 short of money received.
The FY2024 report answers No when asked whether the Borough funded any programs. The FY2025 report answers No for new programs. No report names a program.
The FY2025 report, page 2, told the State what was coming. It said the Borough planned to spend from the account in December 2025, an estimated 30,000.00, "to obtain a K-9 used to detect opioids, support prevention efforts, assist in harm reduction, and facilitate education campaigns."
The State published FY2026 reports on 10/01/2026. Bellmawr's page reads No Report Received.
What the records show
| Date | Payee | Purchase | Check | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2025 | Police Service Dogs, Inc. | Service dog, order 25-02403 | 1839 | 16,000.00 |
| 02/03/2026 | The Shed Lot | K-9 kennel, order 25-02335 | 1938 | 6,480.00 |
| Paid | 22,480.00 |
A 755.44 payroll charge posted to the account on 09/25/2025 and was reversed the same day. It nets to 0.00. After the kennel check the account held 4,538.53. An update the Borough printed on 09/01/2026 shows no expenditures, encumbrances or check payments from 05/01/2026 on.
Both payments fall in the FY2026 reporting year, 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. The Borough filed no report for that year. Spent 22,480.00 on a police K-9 and filed no FY2026 report.
The Borough's vendor reports for 01/01/2018 to 09/01/2026 show one payment to each vendor in more than eight years. Both were charged to the settlement account. No other Borough account ever paid either one.
The FY2025 report described the dog as a tool for detection, prevention, harm reduction and education. No overdose program, referral or treatment protocol using the dog is documented in any report or produced record. Police dogs are not among the uses Exhibit E lists. Every dollar spent went to a police dog and its kennel.
What should happen
The account has paid 22,480.00 for a police dog and its housing with no documented overdose program behind them. The Borough can restore that money to the fund and spend it on a listed use or a documented abatement program.
The State relies on these reports to verify compliance. The Department of Human Services and the Office of the State Comptroller should examine the Borough's spending for FY2026, the year it filed no report.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.