Garfield City

Summary

Garfield City, Bergen County, reports receiving 201,016.21 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 City holds the money in at least 22 grant accounts, most named for a settlement source such as Walgreens, CVS or Teva. Its printed account trails and vendor reports show 72,431.62 paid out from 07/24/2023 to 04/14/2026. Of that, 63,400.19 went to vendors, police officers and one individual, and 9,031.43 went to City accounts as a 5 percent administrative fee. The accounts held 108,456.28 unexpended on 08/31/2026.

This project classes 8,915.00 of the payments as listed uses with a documented program, the CADCA coalition training and the Steered Straight school assembly. It classes 9,360.64 as non-conforming. The rest is unverified, because the record does not show what the money bought.

What the City told the State

The City files a report with the Department of Human Services each year. The State's fiscal year runs from 07/01 to 06/30.

• FY2023. The report certifies 51,222.04 received and 2,978.63 expended through 06/30/2023, a LEAD program at 899.00 and 2,079.63 of administrative expense. The produced account trails show no payment from any opioid account before 07/24/2023.
• FY2024. The report certifies 13,719.11 expended, a Hackensack Meridian Health public health nurse at 10,712.47 and 3,006.64 of administrative expense. It describes the nurse contract this way. "This was an existing program that we applied this grant to." No payment to Hackensack Meridian Health appears on any produced account. The accounts paid 1,667.36 of 5 percent fees in that year.
• FY2025. The report certifies 56,629.57 expended. It lists Vector Solutions at 39,730.70, Steered Straight at 3,000.00, senior outreach events at 985.50, CADCA at 6,935.48 and 5,977.89 of administrative expense. The accounts paid 48,525.00 in that year. Steered Straight and M3EP together were paid 3,000.00 and the caterer 985.50, each to the cent. CADCA was paid 3,235.00.
• FY2026. The report certifies 22,239.26 spent, 0.00 encumbered, 1,990.27 of administrative expense and 108,456.28 on hand. The accounts paid 22,239.26 net in the year, the certified figure to the cent. The administrative figure is the 04/14/2026 fee on check 724, and the on hand figure equals the unexpended balance of the City's opioid accounts on its 08/31/2026 trail.

The FY2026 report ties to the books. What it says the money bought does not.

The field testing equipment

The FY2026 report lists a new program named Opioid/Fentanyl Field Testing Equipment (Sirchie) at 1,310.64. It files the purchase under Diversion and Re-entry Support and reports 68 people served, the City's sworn officers. It says the money bought equipment that lets officers "safely identify suspected opioids and fentanyl analogs encountered in the field without direct physical contact."

Purchase order 25-01639 is the purchase. Check 237 paid it on 01/27/2026.

No test kit, reagent or analyzer is on the order. It is evidence packaging. No diversion program is described or documented. Certified evidence bags as fentanyl field testing gear.

The City's vendor report for Sirchie shows ten earlier orders from 2018 to 2024, 2,164.53 in all, for blood kits, evidence supplies, a Faraday kit and detective bureau supplies. Every one was charged to a police operating line. The 2025 order was charged to the settlement account, and no Sirchie purchase appears on any other City account through 08/31/2026. Paid for evidence supplies police lines bought for years.

The Vector Solutions program

The FY2025 report lists a Vector Solutions opioid training and compliance tracking program at 39,730.70 expended. It names Vector Solutions as the recipient and certifies the procurement as "direct annual subscription to Vector Solutions."

The settlement accounts paid Vector Solutions 18,380.70 on purchase order 25-00891, check 217, on 06/10/2025. The City's vendor report for Vector Solutions covers every fund from 01/01/2018 to 08/31/2026. It shows 31,882.82 paid in all, the 18,380.70 plus 13,502.12 for Guardian Tracking on the police Other Contractual Items line.

Even with the 17,200.00 paid to 43 officers for opioid training that year, the subscription and the officer payments come to 35,580.70. Certified 39,730.70 to a vendor the fund paid 18,380.70.

The vehicle wrap and Night Out

The FY2026 report lists Outrun Opioids at 5,450.00 under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. It describes a loaned vehicle "wrapped in custom Garfield Police Department graphics" with a QR code for a 24/7 addiction hotline. The account paid 506 Wraps LLC 5,450.00 for the wrap on check 233 on 12/29/2025. The report says performance indicators are still being developed and measurement methods have not been finalized. No prevention program built on the wrap is documented. Certified a police-branded vehicle wrap as prevention.

The same report lists Night Out 2025 at 2,600.00 under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. It says the settlement money paid only for the DJ and microphone, 400.00, and the bounce houses, 2,200.00. All Star Events was paid 400.00 on 09/09/2025. Over the Luna Bounce House Co. was paid 3,200.00 less a 1,000.00 discount on 09/23/2025 for an Extreme Rush blow up, a Disney Princess bounce house, a Mickey Mouse playground combo, a castle, a generator and an attendant. Certified a DJ and bounce houses as opioid prevention.

The City pays the same inflatable vendor from its own accounts. The Special Events trust, Celebration of Public Events and Sport and Entertainment Events paid it 13,400.00 from 07/10/2025 to 08/18/2026. That includes 3,750.00 for National Night Out on 08/04/2026. Only the 2025 Night Out rentals went on the settlement fund. Paid bounce houses the City's event funds also pay for.

Exhibit E lists prevention media campaigns and community education within evidence-based or evidence-informed programs. The list is not exhaustive. But the City documents no program built on a vehicle wrap, a DJ or bounce houses. New Jersey law, N.J.S.A. 26:2G-39(f), requires settlement money to add to local spending, not replace it.

The officer payments

Between 02/11/2025 and 05/13/2025 the settlement accounts paid 43 police officers 400.00 each, 17,200.00 in all. The checks are captioned four hour opioid training or opioid training reimbursement. On 12/17/2024 the City paid ZSchool LLC 10,125.00 from its police Education and Training line for a course titled Addressing Opioid Use Disorder. The record does not show what the 400.00 payments covered, and no program in the FY2025 report names them. This project classes them as unverified.

What should happen

The City certified 9,360.64 of FY2026 purchases under labels they do not meet. It 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 FY2025 and FY2026 reports, who prepared them, and what records support them.

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