Jefferson Township
Jefferson Township certified 21,478.00 of charter buses to its Winterfest as opioid awareness, essay scholarships as harm reduction, and haunted house purchases, ice cream and candy as prevention.
Published 10/03/2026 · Updated 10/04/2026
TLDR
- Jefferson Township paid 21,478.00 of opioid settlement money for charter buses to the Township Winterfest. It told the State the buses were Opioid Awareness Events.
- The buses carried banners. That is the opioid content the reports describe.
- It paid 4,000.00 in cash scholarships to high school essay winners. It certified them as Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention.
- It certified haunted house purchases, National Night Out ice cream, candy and ice cream shop gift cards as prevention and mental health first aid.
- Its FY2026 report says it holds 180.03 more than its own figures allow. It says two 1,000.00 scholarships were given and certifies 1,000.00.
- Of 67,747.61 paid through 05/28/2026, 6,700.00 has a documented abatement use. It went to a peer recovery center.
Summary
Jefferson Township, Morris County, reports receiving 180,295.49 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. The money must add to local spending, not replace it.
The Township keeps the money in two accounts. G-01-41-792-000-001, National Opioid Settlement Funds, carries almost all of it. G-01-41-792-000-002, National Opioid Abatement Trust II, made one payment. The Township produced one audit trail covering both accounts from 01/01/2022 to 05/28/2026, printed 05/28/2026. It produced no revenue account, so the receipts below are the Township's own certified figures.
This project classifies 6,700.00 of the 67,747.61 paid as conforming, 28,838.40 as non-conforming and 32,209.21 as unverified. Most of the unverified spending is school speakers and programs whose content no produced record shows. Read the Township's page.
What Jefferson received
| Report | Received in the year | Received since 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 30,480.54 | 30,480.54 |
| FY2024 | 78,594.98 | 109,075.52 |
| FY2025 | 42,375.41 | 151,450.93 |
| FY2026 | 28,844.56 | 180,295.49 |
Each cumulative figure is the prior year's figure plus the year's receipts, to the cent. The FY2024 to FY2026 reports each certify 0.00 of interest.
What Jefferson spent
The first payment from the accounts was on 08/16/2023. Through 05/28/2026 the accounts paid 67,747.61.
| Use | Paid |
|---|---|
| School prevention programs and speakers | 24,050.00 |
| Charter buses for the Township Winterfest | 21,478.00 |
| Hope and Serenity Recovery Community Center | 6,700.00 |
| Teen Mental Health First Aid instruction and manuals | 4,248.96 |
| Scholarships to graduating high school seniors | 4,000.00 |
| Payments to an individual for youth mentoring and haunted house purchases | 3,250.00 |
| National Night Out ice cream and gift cards | 1,400.00 |
| Printing of banners, flyers and signs | 960.25 |
| Morris County Prevention is Key Roads to Recovery event | 950.00 |
| Candy and giveaway items reimbursed to a volunteer | 710.40 |
| Total | 67,747.61 |
The school programs are The I'mpossible Project, Screenagers and a character education speaker through the Jefferson Township Education Foundation, Johnny's Ambassadors, and a 14,000.00 speaker from MJPB Consulting in February 2026. No contract, invoice or program material for any of them was produced. This project classifies them as unverified.
Two orders were open on 05/28/2026. Hope and Serenity held purchase order 25-02534 for 10,000.00. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention held purchase order 26-01338 for a 500.00 walk sponsorship.
What Jefferson told the State
| Report | Certified spent | Certified encumbered | Certified on hand | Paid in the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 0.00 | Not asked | Not asked | 0.00 |
| FY2024 | 16,284.59 | 0.00 | 92,790.93 | 16,284.59 |
| FY2025 | 19,663.05 | 0.00 | 115,503.29 | 19,663.02 |
| FY2026 | 35,350.65 | 10,000.00 | 99,177.23 | 31,800.00 through 05/28/2026 |
The FY2023 report certifies nothing spent. The accounts paid nothing before 08/16/2023.
The FY2024 report covers 07/01/2023 to 06/30/2024. It certifies 16,284.59 spent across five programs. The account paid 16,284.59 in that period, net of a 2.40 discount. The Jefferson Schools Educational Initiatives page lists 9,500.00 spent. The account paid 9,550.00, and the report's own total holds only with 9,550.00. The program page and the books differ by 50.00.
The FY2025 report covers 07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025. Its five program figures sum to 19,663.02, the amount the two accounts paid in the period. Its total, 19,663.05, is 0.03 higher.
Through FY2025, each on hand figure equals receipts since 2022 less the spending the reports certify, to the cent.
Opioid Awareness Events
The FY2024 report introduces a program named Opioid Awareness Events under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. It describes "a presence" at town events such as National Night Out and International Overdose Awareness Day. It says the Township provides "items to draw people in like Ice Cream and other giveaways" so people receive materials on opioid misuse.
| Report | Certified | What the account paid |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 1,487.00 | National Night Out ice cream 1,200.00, banners and flyers 287.00 |
| FY2025 | 14,181.25 | Byram Bus Winterfest shuttle 11,628.00, a payment to an individual described as youth mentoring 2,000.00, printing 553.25 |
| FY2026 | 11,600.00 | Byram Bus Winterfest buses 9,850.00, haunted house purchases paid to the same individual 1,250.00, and a 500.00 walk sponsorship still open on 05/28/2026 |
The FY2024 and FY2025 figures equal the payments to the cent. The FY2026 figure equals the payments plus the open sponsorship.
The Byram Bus lines on the ledger read "WINTERFEST SHUTTLE PROMOTIONAL" and "SUNDAY 12/7 - FOUR (4) BUSSES." The FY2025 and FY2026 reports describe the program's results as "Busses provided with Opioid Awareness Banners." Exhibit E names transportation to treatment and recovery. A shuttle to a town festival is not among the uses Exhibit E lists. The Township certified 21,478.00 of Winterfest buses as opioid awareness.
The FY2026 report lists the Fall Festival and Haunted House among the program's events. The 1,250.00 of haunted house purchases is certified as opioid awareness. So is the 1,200.00 of National Night Out ice cream in FY2024.
Scholarships, candy and gift cards
Role Model in Substance Prevention Efforts pays cash scholarships to graduating seniors who win an essay contest. The FY2024 report files it under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. Five checks in June 2024 and May 2025 make the 4,000.00 the FY2024 and FY2025 reports certify, to the cent. No harm reduction service is documented.
Teen Mental Health First Aid includes the instructor and the manuals. It also includes 200.00 of ice cream shop gift cards and 710.40 reimbursed to a volunteer for Lifesavers, Jelly Belly, Hershey Kisses, Jolly Ranchers, pens, stickers and pins. The FY2024 report itself calls the gift cards and the reimbursed items giveaways. The Township certified 910.40 of giveaways as mental health first aid.
FY2026
The State published the Township's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 35,350.65 spent and 10,000.00 encumbered. Its seven program figures sum to 35,350.65.
The produced print ends 05/28/2026. Through that date the account paid 31,800.00. Three certified figures are not on it.
| FY2026 program | Certified | Paid through 05/28/2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Opioid Leadership Program | 2,050.65 | 0.00 |
| Recovery Support Programs | 6,700.00 | 6,700.00 |
| Opioid Awareness Events | 11,600.00 | 11,100.00 |
| Morris Prevention is Key | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Jefferson Schools Educational Initiatives | 14,000.00 | 14,000.00 |
| Role Model in Substance Prevention Efforts | 1,000.00 | 0.00 |
| Teen Mental Health First Aid | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total | 35,350.65 | 31,800.00 |
The Opioid Leadership Program is new. Its listed recipients are an individual and the Township's municipal alliance committee. The record through 05/28/2026 shows no payment for it. The account for 05/29/2026 to 06/30/2026 was not produced, so this is a gap in the record, not a finding.
The 10,000.00 encumbered equals the open Hope and Serenity order to the cent. The Recovery Support Programs page lists 6,700.00 spent and 10,000.00 encumbered. Its own note says 6,000.00 was funded for operations. The account paid 6,700.00.
The Role Model page lists 1,000.00 spent. Its text says two 1,000.00 scholarships were given. The sentence is carried word for word from the FY2025 report.
The report certifies 99,177.23 on hand. Receipts since 2022 of 180,295.49, less the 71,298.29 the four reports certify as spent and the 10,000.00 encumbered, leave 98,997.20. The certified figure is 180.03 higher. The FY2024 and FY2025 figures follow from the same arithmetic.
What the records show
The certified totals track the books. What they certify does not. Of the 67,747.61 paid, 28,838.40 went to charter buses, scholarships, haunted house purchases, ice cream, candy and gift cards. Every dollar of it was certified to the State under a prevention, harm reduction or mental health program.
The one payment with a documented abatement use is 6,700.00 to the Hope and Serenity Recovery Community Center. The school speakers and programs may be prevention education. The record produced does not show what they taught.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.