Burlington Township

Summary

Burlington Township, Burlington County, reports receiving 248,548.46 in opioid settlement money from 2022 through 06/30/2026. The national settlements list uses for the money, among them treatment, recovery, connection to care, prevention and harm reduction. The list is not exhaustive. Other documented, evidence-based programs that address the epidemic also qualify. In either case the money must add to local spending, not replace it.

The Township kept the money on a new budget line each year. The lines show 44,484.91 paid, net of one 102.29 charge moved off, from the first payment on 11/26/2024 through 09/10/2026. The last printed balance, on 09/10/2026, is 190,814.09.

This project classes none of the 44,484.91 as conforming. It classes 6,680.11 as non-conforming and 37,804.80 as unverified, because the record does not show what the money bought or what program it served. Read the Township's findings.

Where the money went

What the Township told the State

The FY2023 report gives 38,304.71 received as of 06/30/2023. It answers N/A for the amount expended. The books show no payment in that year.

The FY2024 report certifies 0.00 spent between 07/01/2023 and 06/30/2024. The books agree. It gives the Township's goals as "Coordinating with the Police Department." It certifies 135,426.18 received since 2022 and 185,664.34 on hand. The amount on hand is 50,238.16 more than the amount the same report says the Township ever received. Reported 185,664.34 on hand after receiving 135,426.18.

The FY2025 report certifies 27,530.96 spent between 07/01/2024 and 06/30/2025. The books, net of the 102.29 flowers charge moved off, show the same figure to the cent. It lists three programs.

• Wellness app, 7,999.00. The Lexipol payment of 05/27/2025.
• Initial set up for Community Outreach, 17,337.54. Every other payment of the year except the Thanksgiving items and one overtime journal.
• Thanksgiving Outreach, 481.60, filed under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training with 300 participants. Two Edmar invoices and 230.40 of turkey breasts and pie.

It counts the remaining 1,712.82, a journal described as overtime for police opioid outreach, as program administrative expense. It certifies 0.00 encumbered and 0.00 on hand.

The FY2026 report certifies 19,485.22 spent between 07/01/2025 and 06/30/2026, 0.00 encumbered and 201,532.28 on hand. The settlement lines paid 16,456.98 in that year. The report is 3,028.24 higher than the books. Certified 3,028.24 more spending than its books show.

• Burlington Township Opioid Court Support Program, 521.47, police overtime on 06/16/2026. No settlement line carries it through 09/10/2026. The police overtime line shows no recharge to the fund for it. Certified an Opioid Court program its books never paid.
• L.E.A.D. Drug Education and Prevention Program, 4,577.56. The Kaeser and Blair order, the Fatal Vision Roadster and the Devo Designs shirts, to the cent.
• Wellness app, 7,999.00. The second Lexipol payment.
• Initial set up for Community Outreach, 6,387.19. The books show 3,880.42 for it, 2,506.77 less.
• Thanksgiving Outreach, 0.00. The report says it was not held.

The 201,532.28 on hand is the 248,548.46 received less the spending the FY2025 and FY2026 reports certify. It carries the same 3,028.24.

The FY2026 report also says police overtime charged to the fund is a direct program expense, not an administrative one. The FY2025 report filed the same kind of charge as administration.

The harm reduction program

The FY2025 report lists Initial set up for Community Outreach at 17,337.54. It names Burlington Township as the recipient and files the recipient under Community Based Organizations/Non-Governmental Organizations. It gives the primary category as Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. It lists Treat Opioid Use Disorder and Support People in Treatment and Recovery among its Schedule B strategies. It reports 500 participants, 10 encounters and 3 referrals to treatment. Its statement of impact is "Set up costs to host community outreach events."

No community organization appears among the payees. The Township bought every item itself. Nothing on the list is naloxone, treatment or a harm reduction service. Certified traffic cones and food as harm reduction.

The Township has bought from Traffic Safety Service before. It bought cones on a police line in 2019, cones on its snow removal reserve in 2021 and cones and A-frame rails on its DDEF grant in 2022.

In FY2026 the same program took a 381.93 Clover Meat Market order, reimbursed to a police officer on 05/26/2026. Certified a meat market order as harm reduction outreach.

Unspent money reported as 0.00

The FY2025 report certifies 0.00 of unspent or uncommitted funds on hand. The same page certifies 192,312.62 received and 27,530.96 spent. By its own figures 164,781.66 remained. The settlement line stood at 157,385.99 after the last payment of the period, on 05/27/2025. It never fell below 153,991.09 for the rest of 2025. On 01/01/2026 the Township carried its closing balance, 156,660.38, to the new settlement line. The FY2026 report certifies 201,532.28 on hand. Told the State 0.00 was left with 157,385.99 unspent.

Food, shirts and clips

Thanksgiving Outreach, 481.60, is certified under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training with 300 participants. The books show 230.40 of turkey breasts and pie from ShopRite and two Edmar invoices for 251.20 that the ledger does not describe. Certified turkey breasts and pie as prevention education.

The FY2026 L.E.A.D. program certifies 1,480.00 of youth and instructor shirts, patches and design and 1,115.00 of L.E.A.D. identification materials as drug education. The books show Sport-Tek youth academy shirts, instructor shirts, sticker patches and a vectorizing fee from Devo Designs. The 1,115.00 is line 2 of a Kaeser and Blair order described as same as above. Line 1, square power clips, went to a police equipment line for 4,256.79 on the same check. Certified shirts, patches and clips as drug education.

Police overtime

Three charges on the settlement line are police overtime moved by budget journal.

Each hour was first paid from the police overtime line. The same journal then credited that line and charged the settlement line. In 2025 the police overtime line, adopted at 450,000.00, was credited 23,799.06 the same way for the Distracted Driver, Drive Sober, Click It or Ticket and DDEF grants and one unnamed grant. The police overtime lines from 2019 to 2024 show no charge for opioid outreach.

The payroll sheets mark the charged hours as Operation Hands or opioid outreach. The grant earnings report produced for the week ending 05/17/2025 totals 1,351.38, which is 361.44 less than the 1,712.82 charged. The record does not show what the officers did during the hours. This project classes the overtime as unverified.

Other purchases

The Cordico app gives police officers confidential wellness and peer support resources. The fund paid 7,999.00 for it on 05/27/2025 and 7,999.00 again on 05/12/2026. The Township never paid this vendor from any other account. Exhibit E lists wellness services for first responders who suffer secondary trauma from opioid emergencies. No record ties the app to that purpose.

The fund also paid for a Fatal Vision Roadster, bulk water bottles and a K-12 CPR course. The last two fall after the FY2026 period and have not yet been reported.

Records

The Township produced every settlement line from 2023 to 09/10/2026, eight years of police salary and overtime lines, payroll sheets for the three overtime weeks and payment histories for seven vendors. It did not produce posting reports for the three overtime journals. It produced one for journal 6009.

How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.