Hopewell Township
Hopewell Township spent its first 25,336.40 of settlement money on school prevention assemblies and a counterfeit pill ad campaign, filed the assemblies as re-entry and harm reduction programs, then committed 24,975.96 to its fire district with no stated purpose and told the State nothing was committed.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Hopewell Township's settlement account paid the regional school district 25,336.40 for opioid prevention assemblies and a One Pill Can Kill ad campaign. The invoices are in the record.
- On 06/26/2026, four days before the State's fiscal year closed, the Township ordered 24,975.96 for the Board of Fire Commissioners. The ledger line says "Utilize Opioid Settlement Fund." That is the whole description.
- The FY2026 report says 0.00 was committed at year end.
- The fire district payment is the largest the account has made. It is 49.6 percent of all the money the account has paid out.
- In FY2024 the Township certified 7,000.00 as committed. No order existed. The first 7,000.00 payment came seventeen months later.
- The same FY2024 report put 34,739.80 on hand. The Township had received 34,208.10 in all.
- The FY2026 report's figures leave 5,120.89 of the money it says was received unaccounted for.
- A school assembly went to the State as Diversionary and Re-entry Support in FY2025. The FY2026 assemblies went in as Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention.
The assemblies have invoices, purchase orders and a signed speaker agreement. The fire district payment has four words.
Summary
Hopewell Township, Mercer County, reports receiving 61,182.34 in opioid settlement money since 2022. The money must go to the abatement uses the national settlements list, or to documented evidence-based programs that address the epidemic. The list is not exhaustive. In either case the money must add to local spending, not replace it.
The Township keeps the money in account X-02-00-920-948, National Opioid Settlement. Through 08/31/2026 the account paid 50,312.36. Of that, 25,336.40 went to Hopewell Valley Regional School District, which acted as fiscal agent for the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance. The other 24,975.96 went to the Board of Fire Commissioners in one payment. On 08/31/2026 the account held 5,749.29.
This project classifies the school district payments as conforming. They pay for student prevention assemblies and a public awareness campaign about counterfeit pills, and the record documents both. The fire district payment is unverified. No record produced says what it bought. Read the Township's findings.
Where the money went
| Paid | Check | Payee | Purpose on the record | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/12/2024 | 73186 | Hopewell Valley Regional School District | Speak Sobriety assembly, breakout sessions and parent program, 10/10/2024 | 9,000.00 |
| 07/14/2025 | 74654 | Hopewell Valley Regional School District | One Pill Can Kill ads, MercerMe and Hopewell Express | 1,813.20 |
| 12/01/2025 | 75559 | Hopewell Valley Regional School District | Speak Sobriety assembly for Timberlane Middle School 8th grade, October 2025 | 7,000.00 |
| 06/22/2026 | 76839 | Hopewell Valley Regional School District | Opioid assemblies held | 6,000.00 |
| 06/22/2026 | 76839 | Hopewell Valley Regional School District | Ad campaign against opioids | 1,523.20 |
| 07/13/2026 | 76961 | Board of Fire Commissioners | Utilize Opioid Settlement Fund | 24,975.96 |
| Total | 50,312.36 |
Each school district payment reimburses a cost the district paid first. The district's own purchase orders go to Hill Speaks LLC for the assemblies and to two local publications for the ads. The speaker agreement of 09/04/2025 describes the October 2025 assembly as a follow-up to the prior school year's assembly. No invoice or agreement was produced for the two 06/22/2026 lines.
What the Township told the State
| Year | Certified spent | Certified committed | Books, payments in the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 0.00 | not asked | 0.00 |
| FY2024 | 0.00 | 7,000.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2025 | 9,000.00 | 1,813.20 | 9,000.00 |
| FY2026 | 16,336.20 | 0.00 | 16,336.40 |
The State's fiscal year runs 07/01 to 06/30.
FY2024, a commitment with no order and more on hand than received
The FY2024 report covers 07/01/2023 to 06/30/2024. It certifies nothing spent and 7,000.00 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent. It also answers No when asked whether the Township funded any program that year.
The account's audit trail runs from 01/01/2020. Its first purchase order, 24-01114, was encumbered on 09/11/2024, after the period closed. No order was open on 06/30/2024. The only 7,000.00 that ever left the account is check 75559 of 12/01/2025, on purchase order 25-01263, for the October 2025 assembly. That order did not exist until 11/13/2025. Certified a 7,000.00 encumbrance no order supports.
The same report certifies 34,208.10 received since 2022, interest included. Nothing had been spent. It then certifies 34,739.80 unspent and uncommitted on hand, 531.70 more than the Township had ever received. With the 7,000.00 commitment, the report accounts for 41,739.80. Reported 531.70 more on hand than it ever received.
FY2025, the figures tie and the category does not
The FY2025 report certifies 9,000.00 spent. Check 73186 for 9,000.00 is the only payment in the period. It certifies 1,813.20 committed. Purchase order 25-00830 for 943.20 and 870.00 of ads was ordered 06/27/2025 and paid 07/14/2025. Both figures match the books to the cent. FY2025 spending ties to one 9,000.00 check.
The report files the 10/10/2024 assembly under Diversionary and Re-entry Support, a category for people involved with the justice system. It lists people in treatment and people involved with the criminal justice system among those served, and says the program uses medication-assisted treatment. The Township's purchase order describes a school assembly, breakout sessions and a parent program. The report itself says the speaker was hired to present in the schools. Filed a student assembly as diversion and re-entry.
The report names the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance as recipient. The check went to the school district.
FY2026, the fire district order
The State published the Township's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 16,336.20 spent and 0.00 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent.
The spending figure is 0.20 below the books. The account paid 16,336.40 in the year. The One Pill Can Kill program is certified at 3,336.20 against 3,336.40 paid. The Speak Sobriety program is certified at 13,000.00, which is checks 75559 and 76839 to the cent.
This time the report files Speak Sobriety under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. It says the program offered post-treatment support to aid recovery. The 7,000.00 paid for an 8th grade assembly on opioid prevention. The 6,000.00 order reads Reimb. Opioid Assemblies held. No recovery service is in the books. Filed student assemblies as overdose harm reduction.
The committed figure does not match the books. On 06/26/2026 the Township encumbered purchase order 26-00896 for 24,975.96 to the Board of Fire Commissioners. The order was open on 06/30/2026. Check 76961 paid it on 07/13/2026, thirteen days into the next fiscal year. The account also carried 30,725.25 of appropriation that had not been spent. The report's 0.00 matches neither figure. Reported nothing committed with a 24,975.96 order open.
The ledger line for the fire district payment reads "Utilize Opioid Settlement Fund." It names no invoice, no equipment, no service and no program. Neither of the report's two programs mentions the fire district. What the 24,975.96 bought is not in the produced records.
The report's own totals do not add up. It certifies 61,182.34 received since 2022. The four reports certify 25,336.20 spent. That leaves 35,846.14. The FY2026 report accounts for 30,725.25, all of it as unspent and uncommitted. That figure is the account's running balance after the 06/22/2026 check, before the fire district order. The FY2025 report's figures added up to the cent. The FY2026 report's leave 5,120.89 out. FY2026 report leaves 5,120.89 of its own money unaccounted.
What should happen
The Township can produce the record behind purchase order 26-00896, the claim the Board of Fire Commissioners submitted and what the money paid for. Until then the payment has no documented abatement use.
The State relies on these reports to verify compliance. The Department of Human Services should compare the Township's FY2024 and FY2026 commitment and balance figures with the account's purchase orders and receipts.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.