Bloomfield Township
Bloomfield Township certified 108,404.16 of FY2026 spending to the State as one harm reduction program, and 52,601.63 of it is Fire Department EMS equipment and mechanical CPR devices, much of it moved onto the fund from fire department accounts.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Bloomfield Township's FY2026 report certifies 108,404.16 spent on one program, filed under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention.
- 52,601.63 of that figure is Fire Department equipment. It includes EMS supplies, an ambulance cot, a stair chair and two mechanical CPR devices.
- 26,431.63 of the fire equipment was first charged to two fire budget lines and a fire prevention reserve. A journal dated 11/24/2025 moved it onto the settlement account.
- The Township paid 26,170.00 for two automated chest compression devices for the Fire Department. The check is dated 06/22/2026.
- The fund also paid for a police course on opioid use disorder, the overtime to attend it and an overdose awareness exhibit. This project treats those as listed uses.
- The FY2024 report counted a voided 299.85 order as spent. The FY2026 report is 299.85 low. Across three years the certified totals match the books.
Summary
Bloomfield Township, Essex County, told the State it had received 240,730.83 in opioid settlement money 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. It must add to local spending, not replace it. The listed uses cover treatment, recovery, connection to care, prevention and harm reduction.
The Township keeps the money in one account, G-02-40-503-024, Opioid Settlement Funds. The audit trail printed 06/01/2026 and a check stub for the last order show 146,279.96 paid from 05/20/2024 to 06/22/2026. No receipts listing was produced, so this project has not tested the received figures.
Of the 146,279.96, this project classifies 54,867.44 as conforming, 61,378.45 as non-conforming and 30,034.07 as unverified. That is 37.5, 42.0 and 20.5 percent. Read the Township's findings.
What the Township told the State
The State's fiscal year runs 07/01 to 06/30.
| Report | Received in the year | Certified spent | Encumbered | Unspent on hand | Paid from the account in the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 49,358.16 | 0.00 | not asked | not asked | 0.00 |
| FY2024 | 85,696.86 | 17,055.10 | 448.00 | 117,551.92 | 16,755.25 |
| FY2025 | 41,438.42 | 20,820.70 | 0.00 | 138,917.49 | 20,820.70 |
| FY2026 | 64,237.39 | 108,404.16 | 0.00 | 94,450.87 | 108,704.01 |
The FY2023 figure is everything received through 06/30/2023. The report says goals and priorities were still being set. The account made its first payment on 05/20/2024.
Each later report lists one program, under the same primary category, Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. FY2024 and FY2025 call it Bloomfield Substance Abuse Prevention and Safety. FY2026 calls it Bloomfield Substance Use Prevention and Safety. The FY2025 report describes it as substance use prevention, education, medical equipment and safety. The FY2026 report uses the same words, with misuse in place of use.
The FY2025 figure ties to ten payments to the cent. The FY2024 and FY2026 figures do not. The section on the voided order below explains both.
Where the money went
| Purchase | Payee | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Department EMS supplies, ambulance cot and stair chair, moved by journal 2666 | V.E. Ralph and Son | 26,431.63 |
| Two ARM XR automated chest compression devices for the Fire Department | V.E. Ralph Co | 26,170.00 |
| Defibrillators, a wall mounted AED unit, AED batteries, AED equipment and AED trainers | Life Savers, Inc. | 8,776.82 |
| Police course on opioid use disorder, 59 seats | ZSchool LLC | 26,550.00 |
| Police overtime to attend that course, moved by journal 2670 | Police salary line | 14,647.44 |
| Black Poster Project overdose awareness exhibit | Essex Health and Wellness | 13,670.00 |
| Police overtime at the Black Poster Project, moved by journal 2670 | Police salary line | 832.94 |
| D.A.R.E. supplies and books | National Sportswear, Creative Products Sourcing | 10,068.60 |
| Training manikins, CPR training equipment, CPR supplies and medical equipment | Life Savers, Inc. | 6,966.00 |
| Fatal Vision goggles | Innocorp, Ltd. | 5,302.00 |
| Continuing education workshop | Rutgers Center for Government Services | 2,700.00 |
| Opioid handling gloves | Amazon Capital Services | 1,287.50 |
| Drug resistance training | Advocacy for Drug Education | 1,250.00 |
| Opioid collection and storage supplies | Sirchie Fingerprint Labs | 1,067.03 |
| First aid rescue devices | Metropolitan Medical Corp | 560.00 |
| Paid through 06/30/2026 | 146,279.96 |
The non-conforming 61,378.45 is the fire journal, the chest compression devices and the defibrillator equipment. Defibrillators and mechanical CPR devices treat cardiac arrest. No overdose program using any of this equipment is documented.
FY2026: fire equipment certified as harm reduction
The FY2026 report certifies 108,404.16 spent on Bloomfield Substance Use Prevention and Safety, recipient Township of Bloomfield. Its primary category is Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. It reports 800 people served. Its awareness indicators name the Black Poster Project and D.A.R.E. supplies. The report names the Township Administrator, the Director of Human Services, the Chief of Police and the Fire Chief as the officials who decided how to spend the money.
The account paid 108,704.01 in the year.
| Payment | Date | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ZSchool LLC, police course, check 626247 | 10/27/2025 | 20,700.00 |
| Innocorp, Fatal Vision goggles, check 626253 | 11/10/2025 | 5,302.00 |
| Journal 2666, Fire Department EMS costs | 11/24/2025 | 26,431.63 |
| Journal 2670, police overtime | 12/03/2025 | 15,480.38 |
| Essex Health and Wellness, Black Poster Project, check 626536 | 12/08/2025 | 13,670.00 |
| Creative Products Sourcing, DARE books, check 626525 | 12/08/2025 | 950.00 |
| V.E. Ralph Co, chest compression devices | 06/22/2026 | 26,170.00 |
| Paid in FY2026 | 108,704.01 |
The fire journal and the chest compression devices come to 52,601.63, almost half the certified figure. The report names medical equipment. It files that equipment as harm reduction. The harm reduction uses Exhibit E lists center on naloxone, overdose response education and syringe services. An ambulance cot, a stair chair and mechanical CPR devices are not among the uses Exhibit E lists. Certified fire EMS equipment as overdose harm reduction.
The fire journal
Journal reference 2666 is dated 11/24/2025 and captioned RECLASS AMBULANCE/EMS EXP. TO OPIOID. It charged 26,431.63 to the settlement account. The posting report credits three fire lines.
| Line first charged | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fire Department OE Mat/Supplies, 5-01-25-265-030 | 543.28 |
| Fire Department OE Safety Equipment, 5-01-25-265-056 | 8,214.63 |
| Fire Prevention Program reserve, T-13-00-060-001 | 17,673.72 |
| Moved to the settlement account | 26,431.63 |
The Township produced a schedule of the 17 purchase orders behind the journal, with the orders and V.E. Ralph and Son invoices. Every order ships to the Bloomfield Fire Department. They were placed from 01/10/2025 to 10/28/2025. They buy gloves, bandages, oxygen regulators, defibrillator pads and batteries, tourniquets, extrication coats and other EMS supplies. Two items are equipment. Purchase order 25-02614 buys an ambulance cot at 8,363.16. Invoice 485527 bills a Transcend track stair chair with options at 4,672.00. The backup holds no naloxone.
The fire lines had already carried these costs. Purchase order 25-03350, for example, records check 625789 paid on 09/15/2025, ten weeks before the journal. The journal moved the costs to the settlement money after the fact. The agreement between the State and its towns requires that money to supplement local spending, not replace it. Moved 26,431.63 of fire department costs onto the fund.
The chest compression devices
Purchase order 26-02035 is dated 05/28/2026 and ships to the Bloomfield Fire Department. V.E. Ralph invoice 497705, dated 06/02/2026, bills two ARM XR automated chest compression devices at 13,029.00 each and two suction cup assemblies at 56.00 each, 26,170.00 in all. The check stub is dated 06/22/2026. The audit trail printed 06/01/2026 still shows the order open. The payment falls inside FY2026, eight days before the year closed.
A mechanical CPR device treats cardiac arrest. No overdose program using these devices is documented. Paid 26,170.00 for two fire department CPR machines.
The police course and the overtime
ZSchool LLC billed the Bloomfield Police Department for the Certificate Program Operational Readiness for Police Officers, Practical Strategies for Addressing Opioid Use Disorder and Co-occurring Conditions. The invoices are on Seton Hall University Stillman School of Business letterhead. Invoice INV-000706 bills 13 seats at 450.00, 5,850.00, paid 05/19/2025. Invoice INV-000777 bills 46 seats at 450.00, 20,700.00, paid 10/27/2025. Training police on the needs of people with opioid use disorder is among the uses Exhibit E lists.
Journal reference 2670, dated 12/03/2025, moved 15,480.38 of police overtime onto the settlement account and reimbursed Police Department S&W Full Time. The Township's Overtime Valuation breaks it down. 42 officers were paid 168.00 hours of cash overtime on 10/05/2025 and 10/06/2025 to attend the opioid use disorder course, 14,647.44. This project treats that overtime as part of the course. The other 832.94 paid three officers for a special detail at the Black Poster Project on 09/25/2025. The journal calls all of it training overtime. The record does not show what the officers did at the event, so this project leaves the 832.94 unverified.
The voided order
The FY2024 report certifies 17,055.10 spent. The account paid 16,755.25 in that year. The difference, 299.85, is Life Savers purchase order 24-02339 for opioid overdose cabinets. The audit trail marks it void on 06/13/2024. It was never paid. Counted a voided 299.85 order as FY2024 spending.
The FY2025 report's unspent figure uses the real payments. The FY2026 report certifies 108,404.16, which is 299.85 below what the account paid that year. The three certified figures add to 146,279.96, the same as the payments.
What should happen
The account has paid 61,378.45 for EMS equipment, mechanical CPR devices and defibrillators. 26,431.63 of it paid back costs the fire lines and reserve had already carried. The Township 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 FY2026 report, who prepared it, and what records support it.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.