Eatontown Borough
Eatontown Borough has told the State it holds more opioid settlement money than it ever received, and it has filed every dollar it spent as administration.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Eatontown reported 110,710.53 in opioid settlement money received through 06/30/2024. The same report put 171,407.92 on hand. That is 60,697.39 more than it ever got.
- A year later it did it again. 157,986.74 received. 170,641.02 on hand, after spending 21,230.52.
- In FY2026 the total received grew by 12,654.28 more than the new money. The extra is last year's overstated balance, carried forward as receipts.
- Every dollar the Borough reports spending, 25,997.70 over two years, is police training. It filed all of it as administration.
- The FY2026 report says the Borough used a strategic plan. Then it says the Borough has none.
- The Borough has not produced a ledger. One is owed.
Summary
Eatontown Borough, Monmouth County, reported receiving opioid settlement money each year since 2022. 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.
This project has no ledger for the Borough's settlement money. No account record has been produced, so the books cannot be checked against the reports. The five findings rest on the reports' own figures. Read the Borough's findings.
What the Borough told the State
| Report | Received in the year | Received since 2022 | Spent | Of which administrative | On hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 38,932.84 | 38,932.84 | 0.00 | 0.00 | not asked |
| FY2024 | 71,163.28 | 110,710.53 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 171,407.92 |
| FY2025 | 47,890.62 | 157,986.74 | 21,230.52 | 21,230.52 | 170,641.02 |
| FY2026 | 37,473.08 | 208,114.10 | 4,767.18 | 4,767.18 | 182,116.40 |
The FY2024 report certifies 614.41 of interest since 2022. The FY2025 and FY2026 reports certify 0.00 of interest. Each report from FY2024 on certifies 0.00 encumbered.
No report lists a program. The FY2024 report gives the Borough's goal as opioid awareness and prevention education and its public engagement as participating in a drug alliance. The FY2025 report answers NA to its goals and to how it chose to use the money. The FY2026 report gives its goal as "training" and names the administrator as the official who decided the spending. The Borough reports no strategic plan and no risk assessment in any year.
The FY2024 balance
The FY2024 report certifies 110,710.53 received since 2022. That is the 38,932.84 from FY2023, the 71,163.28 from FY2024 and 614.41 of interest, to the cent. Nothing was spent in either year and nothing was encumbered. The report still certifies 171,407.92 unspent and uncommitted on hand. That is 60,697.39 more than the Borough says it ever received. FY2024 report lists 60,697.39 more on hand than received.
The FY2025 balance
The FY2025 report certifies 157,986.74 received since 2022 and 21,230.52 spent in the year. Nothing was spent before. By the Borough's own figures, 136,756.22 was left. The report certifies 170,641.02 on hand. That is 12,654.28 above everything received, and 33,884.80 above what the year's spending leaves. The 157,986.74 is also the three years of payments without the 614.41 of interest the Borough reported a year earlier. FY2025 report lists 12,654.28 more on hand than received.
FY2026
The State published the Borough's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 37,473.08 received, 4,767.18 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 182,116.40 on hand.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Received since 2022, FY2025 report | 157,986.74 |
| Received in FY2026 | 37,473.08 |
| Carried forward | 195,459.82 |
| Received since 2022, FY2026 report | 208,114.10 |
| Difference | 12,654.28 |
The FY2026 total is the FY2025 balance on hand, 170,641.02, plus the 37,473.08 received in the year, to the cent. The overstated balance became money received. Counting every payment and the 614.41 of interest the reports certify, the Borough received 196,074.23. The FY2026 total is 12,039.87 above that. The 182,116.40 on hand is the inflated total less the 25,997.70 spent in FY2025 and FY2026. FY2026 total received is 12,654.28 above its own receipts.
The report answers that the Borough used "A strategic Plan" when deciding how to spend the money. Two questions later it answers that the Borough has no strategic plan. FY2026 report cites a strategic plan it says it lacks.
The spending
The Borough has certified 25,997.70 spent in four years. All of it is filed as administrative expense. The FY2025 report describes its 21,230.52 as a police officer attending a "Strategies of Opioid disorder" certificate class. The FY2026 report describes its 4,767.18 as "Police Officer training." Both reports answer that the Borough funded no program. Training is a program cost. Filed as administration it carries no program block, no recipient, no category and no count of people trained. Certified 25,997.70 of police training as administration.
What the record does not show
The Borough has produced no ledger. The reports certify 25,997.70 spent on police training over two years. They do not name a payee, an invoice or a check. They also give three balances that the Borough's own receipts do not support. Only the account that holds the money can show what was received, what was paid, to whom, and how much is left. That record is owed.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.