Clinton Township

Summary

Clinton Township, Hunterdon County, reported receiving 166,032.02 in opioid settlement money 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 supplement local spending, not replace it.

The settlement money sits in account 02-213-41-710-024, Approp Opioid Settlement. The Township produced its activity from 01/01/2022 to 08/27/2026. In that time the account paid 80,848.07.

This project classes 11,609.98 as conforming, 52,167.73 as non-conforming and 17,070.36 as unverified. Read the Township's findings.

The school presentation

On 12/06/2023 the account paid Herren Talks, Inc. 11,000.00 for a presentation on opioids and drugs at North Hunterdon High School and 609.98 for presentation expenses. The FY2023 report lists the event as Operation Safe School, a school outreach program for students and faculty. The FY2024 report says the speaker presented to 800 students and faculty and certifies 11,609.98 spent. The figure ties to the check to the cent. FY2024 spending ties to one school presentation.

School-based prevention education is among the uses Exhibit E lists. It is the only payment from the account this project classes as conforming.

National Night Out

National Night Out is an annual police community event. The Township's vendor history for Positive Promotions Inc. covers 01/01/2018 to 01/01/2027 and totals 13,506.31.

Before the settlement account was used, the vendor was paid 2,798.58 from police department lines and one other account. From 2025 on, it was paid only from the settlement account, 10,707.73 in all. The 08/09/2023 order for footballs and sunglasses was split 366.66 and 366.65 across two non-settlement accounts. The 2026 order is the first whose description carries the word opioid. The Township did not produce its National Night Out appropriation lines or a vendor history for Minuteman Press.

The FY2026 report lists National Night Out as a program of the Clinton Twp Police Department, funded on 08/05/2025 at 3,969.77. It files it under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training and names one Schedule B strategy, Treat Opioid Use Disorder. It lists Treatment and Recovery Supports among its other categories. It says officers sat at tables to discuss opioid topics and that the department "Handed out flyers and giveaway to say no to Opioid use." No treatment of opioid use disorder is documented for the event. Giveaway merchandise is not among the uses Exhibit E lists. Certified police event giveaways as opioid treatment.

The program page certifies 3,696.77 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 3,969.77 funded. The account paid the full 3,969.77, Minuteman Press 250.00 on 08/13/2025 and Positive Promotions 3,719.77 on 08/27/2025. Program page reports 273.00 less than the books paid.

The analyzer

Purchase order 42189 was encumbered on 04/24/2026 for 41,460.00. The ledger describes it as "Trunec Soltuion kit for identificato herion." Check 39759 paid Thermo Scientific Portable Ana 41,460.00 on 08/26/2026, invoice 268928. It is a portable analyzer and a solution kit for identifying heroin, a field tool for identifying drugs. It is the largest charge ever made to the account, just over half of everything the account has paid.

The FY2026 report certifies 41,460.00 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent. The amount is true. Neither program block on the report describes it, and each answers 0.00 encumbered. The report names the Chief of Police and the Mayor as the officials who decided how to spend the money. No prevention, treatment or overdose program using the analyzer is documented, and drug identification equipment is not among the uses Exhibit E lists. Certified 41,460.00 for a drug analyzer no program names.

No purchase order packet, quote, invoice or resolution for the analyzer has been produced.

The police course

On 05/13/2026 the account paid ZSchool LLC 13,950.00 on check 39349, described as operational readiness and practical strategies. The FY2026 report names the program Operation Readiness, practical strategies for addressing opioid use. It places the recipient in the category First Responders, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Services. It gives the target population as children and young adults from 0 to 24, people who use drugs and the general public. It files the course under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention and reports 30 people served.

The same report says the agency educated the officers and the public, counts one training session and leaves harm reduction supplies blank. No record shows a child, a person who uses drugs or a member of the public in the course. Certified a police course as harm reduction for children.

Training police on opioid use disorder is among the uses Exhibit E lists. No invoice, syllabus or attendance record was produced, so this project classes the payment itself as unverified.

Payroll

On 08/27/2026 the account paid 2,870.36 to the Township current account for August payroll. The entry names no employee, title, hours or basis for the charge. This project classes it as unverified.

What Clinton Township told the State

Each town with a direct share files an annual report with the Department of Human Services.

The FY2023 report certifies nothing spent through 06/30/2023, and the account paid nothing in that period. It lists Operation Safe School at 12,000.00, funded 12/06/2023.

The FY2024 report certifies 11,609.98, the Herren Talks presentation. It reports 108,637.66 unspent on hand, 7,034.71 more than the 101,602.95 it reports as received since 2022. Its own figures leave 89,992.97. Reported 108,637.66 on hand after receiving 101,602.95.

The same report answers No when asked whether the Township funded any programs in the year, beside the 11,609.98 it says was spent on Operation Safe School. Said it funded no programs in a year it spent 11,609.98.

The FY2025 report certifies 0.00 spent, and the account paid nothing in that period. It also certifies 3,969.77 encumbered. On 06/30/2025 the account held no open order and a balance of 31,786.89. Positive Promotions order 40932 for 3,719.77 was encumbered on 07/10/2025. Minuteman Press order 41032 for 250.00 was encumbered on 07/30/2025. Together they are 3,969.77. Certified two orders placed after year end as encumbered.

The FY2025 report says its 131,232.42 received includes interest. Less 11,609.98 spent and 3,969.77 encumbered, that leaves 115,652.67. It certifies 114,761.38 on hand, short by the 891.29 of interest the FY2024 report certified. FY2025 report left 891.29 of interest out of money on hand.

FY2026

The State published the Township's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026.

It certifies 17,919.77 spent. Minuteman Press 250.00, Positive Promotions 3,719.77 and ZSchool 13,950.00 make that figure to the cent. The program page certifies National Night Out at 3,969.77 funded and 3,696.77 spent. The account paid 3,969.77. The spent figure transposes two digits and leaves the two programs 273.00 short of the total.

It certifies 91,534.60 unspent on hand. Its own figures leave 95,042.27. The 91,534.60 is the balance of the appropriation account after the grant journal of 06/24/2026, net of the open analyzer order. The four grant journals that funded the account total 162,524.35, which is 3,507.67 less than the 166,032.02 the report says was received. FY2026 report left 3,507.67 out of the money on hand.

It certifies 41,460.00 encumbered, the analyzer order, which no program on the report describes. It answers Yes to funding programs, after No in FY2024 and FY2025. It reports no strategic plan and no risk assessment.

The 6,987.96 of giveaways, the 41,460.00 analyzer payment and the 2,870.36 payroll charge were paid after 06/30/2026. They fall in the FY2027 reporting year.

What should happen

The account has paid 52,167.73 for giveaway merchandise and for drug identification equipment that no documented program uses. 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 can examine the FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026 reports, the analyzer purchase and the payroll charge.

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