Bergenfield Borough
Bergenfield Borough has received 128,779.07 in opioid settlement money, spent 1,500.00 of it on a school poster program, reported that spending to the cent, and answered the State's question on committed money wrong in three straight reports.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Bergenfield Borough has received 128,779.07 in settlement money since 2022. It has spent 1,500.00.
- The 1,500.00 paid The Black Poster Project for a school program. The FY2026 report certifies 1,500.00. The books show 1,500.00.
- The FY2023, FY2024 and FY2025 reports certify nothing spent. Nothing was spent.
- The FY2025 report says 108,197.03 was appropriated or encumbered. That is every dollar the Borough had received. The books show 98,707.55 appropriated and no order of any kind.
- The FY2024 report says 0.00 was appropriated or encumbered. The Borough appropriated 58,409.55 that spring.
- The FY2026 report says 0.00 again. The Borough appropriated 26,893.45 on 02/03/2026 and held 124,101.00 unspent at year end.
Of the money received, 98.8 percent is still in the account.
Summary
Bergenfield Borough, Bergen County, reports receiving 128,779.07 in opioid settlement money from 2022 through 06/30/2026. The money must go to the abatement uses the national settlements list, or to documented evidence-based programs that address the epidemic.
The Borough set up three budget lines for the money, one each for 2023, 2024 and 2025. On 06/23/2025 it moved the 2023 and 2024 appropriations into the 2025 line, G-02-25-000-C00-029. Appropriations total 125,601.00. The line has paid one check in its life, 1,500.00 on 05/20/2026. It held 124,101.00 on 08/31/2026 with nothing on order.
The Borough's spending figures match its books. Its answers on committed money do not, in FY2024, FY2025 or FY2026. Read the Borough's findings.
What the Borough told the State
| Report | Received to date | Certified spent | Certified appropriated or encumbered | Appropriated in the period, books |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 25,988.38 | 0.00 | not asked | 12,701.00 |
| FY2024 | 77,831.39 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 58,409.55 |
| FY2025 | 108,197.03 | 0.00 | 108,197.03 | 27,597.00 |
| FY2026 | 128,779.07 | 1,500.00 | 0.00 | 26,893.45 |
The FY2023 report gives no goals and no rationale. The FY2024 report says the Borough has not decided how to use the money. The FY2025 report says the Borough is considering equipment for emergency personnel, chosen on "Needs expressed by emergency services personnel." The FY2026 report says the money went to education, and that no final decision has been made on the rest.
Three years of zero
The FY2023, FY2024 and FY2025 reports each certify 0.00 spent. The books agree. The 2023 line took a 12,701.00 appropriation on 05/03/2023. The 2024 line took 20,837.00 on 05/08/2024 and 37,572.55 on 05/23/2024. The 2025 line took 25,597.00 on 04/01/2025 and 2,000.00 on 04/30/2025. None of the three lines paid anything before 05/20/2026. Reported no spending for three years and spent none.
The FY2024 commitment
The FY2024 report covers 07/01/2023 to 06/30/2024. Question 7 asks how much was appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent. The Borough answered 0.00.
The 2024 line, G-02-24-000-C00-029, took 20,837.00 on 05/08/2024. On 05/23/2024 it rose to 58,409.55 under Resolution 24-167. The 2023 line had held 12,701.00 since 05/03/2023. Neither paid anything.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified appropriated or encumbered, FY2024 | 0.00 |
| Appropriated inside the reporting period | 58,409.55 |
| Appropriated and unspent at 06/30/2024 | 71,110.55 |
Reported 0.00 committed as 58,409.55 was appropriated.
The FY2025 commitment
The FY2025 report covers 07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025. Question 7 asks how much was appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent. The Borough answered 108,197.03.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified appropriated or encumbered, FY2025 | 108,197.03 |
| Certified received since 2022, FY2025 | 108,197.03 |
| Certified unspent on hand, FY2025 | 108,197.03 |
| Appropriated on the books at 06/30/2025 | 98,707.55 |
| Appropriated inside the reporting period | 27,597.00 |
| Encumbered at 06/30/2025 | 0.00 |
The certified figure is the money received. It is 9,489.48 more than every appropriation on the books. No purchase order existed. The first one, 25-02202, was opened on 09/09/2025. Reported all 108,197.03 received as committed.
FY2026
The State published the Borough's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 1,500.00 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 127,279.07 unspent on hand.
The one program is The Black Poster Project, funded at 1,500.00 and spent in full. The report describes memorial posters of people lost to addiction, shown to high school students, and reports 500 people served. It files the program under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention, with Primary Prevention, Education, and Training as a second category.
Purchase order 25-02202 reads "Set up of Black Poster Project" for a school program on 09/09/2025 and 09/10/2025. The invoice is dated 09/04/2025. Check 41327 paid it on 05/20/2026, eight months after the program ran. The vendor's purchase order history holds that one order and no other. FY2026 report ties its one payment to the cent.
The record does not include a contract, a scope of work or the invoice itself. This project counts the payment as unverified until it does.
The FY2026 commitment
Question 7 again asks how much was appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent. The FY2026 report answers 0.00.
On 02/03/2026 the Borough raised the 2025 line from 27,597.00 to 54,490.45. That is 26,893.45 appropriated inside the period. The one check, 1,500.00, cleared on 05/20/2026. Nothing else left the line through 08/31/2026.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified appropriated or encumbered, FY2026 | 0.00 |
| Appropriated inside the reporting period | 26,893.45 |
| Appropriated and unspent at 06/30/2026 | 124,101.00 |
The FY2025 report put the same question at every dollar received. The FY2026 report puts it at nothing. The books support neither. Reported 0.00 committed after a 26,893.45 appropriation.
What the records do not show
The Borough produced its budget lines. It did not produce the revenue or trust account where the settlement payments arrive. The 128,779.07 the Borough reports receiving cannot be checked against the books. Appropriations of 125,601.00 are 3,178.07 below that figure.