Town of Hammonton
The Town of Hammonton has filed four reports on its opioid settlement money, produced no ledger, and certified unspent balances its own figures do not support.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Hammonton reports receiving 80,759.44 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2026.
- It has produced no ledger. No payment from the fund can be checked against the books.
- Its FY2025 balance on hand leaves out the 22,678.88 it received that year.
- Its FY2026 balance is 7,473.02 lower than every figure it certified allows.
- Its FY2026 report certifies 1,557.23 spent. The same report says the Town funded no programs.
The reports say where the money is. They do not agree with each other.
Summary
The Town of Hammonton, Atlantic County, has filed a report with the Department of Human Services for each year from FY2023 to FY2026. The State's fiscal year runs 07/01 to 06/30. The reports certify 80,759.44 received since 2022, with no interest. They certify 2,557.23 spent and 2,000.00 of administrative expense across FY2025 and FY2026. No report names a program.
The Town has not produced a ledger for the settlement money. One is owed. Without it, this project cannot match any certified figure to a payment, and the Town's spending is not graded. Read the Town's findings.
What the Town received
| Report | Received in the year | Received since 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 9,963.29 | |
| FY2024 | 32,684.25 | 42,647.54 |
| FY2025 | 22,678.88 | 65,326.42 |
| FY2026 | 15,433.02 | 80,759.44 |
Each year's total is the prior total plus the year's receipts, to the cent.
What the Town told the State
| Report | Spent | Administrative | Encumbered | On hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| FY2024 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 42,647.54 |
| FY2025 | 1,000.00 | 1,000.00 | 6,945.00 | 34,702.54 |
| FY2026 | 1,557.23 | 1,000.00 | 9,689.91 | 52,094.28 |
The FY2024 report says the Town is working on a program to teach awareness in local schools and to hold events that educate the public. It funded no program that year.
The FY2025 report describes the 1,000.00 of administrative expense as coordination fees. It gives the Town's goal as outreach to the public schools. It says the Town funded no new programs. No earlier report names one.
The FY2026 report says the 1,000.00 of administrative expense was paid to the program's administrator, who coordinates all programs and expenditures. It says the Town decides spending each year from the needs the administrator gives it. It answers No to whether the Town funded any programs.
None of the reports names a vendor, a program or a recipient for any of the money spent or encumbered.
What the records show
The FY2025 report certifies 65,326.42 received, 1,000.00 spent and 6,945.00 encumbered. Those figures leave 57,381.42 on hand. The report certifies 34,702.54. That is the FY2024 total of 42,647.54, less the 1,000.00 and the 6,945.00. The 22,678.88 received during FY2025 does not appear in the balance. FY2025 balance leaves out the 22,678.88 received that year.
| FY2025 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Received since 2022 | 65,326.42 |
| Spent | -1,000.00 |
| Encumbered | -6,945.00 |
| Left by the report's own figures | 57,381.42 |
| Certified on hand | 34,702.54 |
| Difference, the year's receipts | 22,678.88 |
The FY2026 report certifies 52,094.28 on hand out of 80,759.44 received. Subtract every spent, administrative and encumbered figure in the FY2025 and FY2026 reports, 21,192.14 in all, and 59,567.30 remains. The certified balance is 7,473.02 lower. No combination of the figures in the four reports produces it. FY2026 balance is 7,473.02 below what its own figures leave.
| FY2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Received since 2022 | 80,759.44 |
| Spent, FY2025 and FY2026 | -2,557.23 |
| Administrative, FY2025 and FY2026 | -2,000.00 |
| Encumbered, FY2025 and FY2026 | -16,634.91 |
| Left by the reports' own figures | 59,567.30 |
| Certified on hand | 52,094.28 |
| Difference | 7,473.02 |
The FY2026 report certifies 1,557.23 spent and 9,689.91 encumbered. The form tells a town that reports spending to describe each program the money funded. Hammonton answered that it funded no programs and described none. At least 557.23 of the spending is above the administrative figure and is accounted for nowhere. FY2026 report certifies 1,557.23 spent but no programs.
The 6,945.00 encumbered in FY2025 and the 9,689.91 encumbered in FY2026 are not tied to any program, vendor or order in any report.
What should happen
The Town should produce the ledger for its settlement money, from the first receipt in 2022 to the present. That record would show what the 2,557.23 bought, what the 16,634.91 of encumbrances are for, and how much is on hand.
The State relies on these reports to verify compliance. The Department of Human Services should ask the Town how it reached each balance it certified.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.