Kearny Town
Kearny Town reported 221,484.23 in opioid settlement money received and 60,966.00 spent, then told the State it had 11,693.07 left, and it has produced no ledger to show where the rest is.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Kearny Town says it has received 221,484.23 in opioid settlement money. It says it has spent 60,966.00.
- Its FY2026 report says 11,693.07 is left. By its own figures 160,518.23 should be.
- The 148,825.16 gap first appears in FY2025. That report says nothing was left at all.
- No report says the 148,825.16 was spent or committed. None says where it is.
- In FY2024 the Town counted the same 966.00 for a one time symposium as spent and still committed.
- The Town has produced no ledger.
Summary
Kearny Town, Hudson County, files a report each year with the Department of Human Services on its share of the national opioid settlements. The money must go to the abatement uses Exhibit E of the settlements lists, or to documented, evidence-based programs that address the epidemic. It must add to local spending, not replace it.
The Town has produced no ledger for its settlement money. Everything below comes from its four reports to the State. Spending cannot be graded against the books, and no transaction is classified. Read the Town's findings.
What the Town received
The reports certify these receipts. Each year's cumulative figure is the prior figure plus the year's receipts, to the cent. The Town reports no interest in any year.
| Period | Received in the period | Received since 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Through 06/30/2023 | 54,319.00 | 54,319.00 |
| 07/01/2023 to 06/30/2024 | 78,812.89 | 133,131.89 |
| 07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025 | 52,659.27 | 185,791.16 |
| 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026 | 35,693.07 | 221,484.23 |
What it told the State each year
| Report | Expended | Encumbered | Administrative | Unspent on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 0.00 | not asked | 0.00 | not asked |
| FY2024 | 8,966.00 | 16,000.00 | 0.00 | 85,904.83 |
| FY2025 | 28,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2026 | 24,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11,693.07 |
The FY2023 report lists two programs. One is a partnership with the Kearny Public Schools for assemblies and evening meetings on opioid abuse, funded 06/28/2023 at 20,396.02. The report says that funding is encumbered and the program has not started. The other is a partnership with the Inter County Council for Drug and Alcohol Abuse, ICCDAA, for treatment, funded 07/11/2023 at 24,000.00. No later report mentions the schools program or the 20,396.02.
The FY2024 report says the Town has no strategic plan. The FY2025 report says it has one. The FY2026 report says it does not.
What it spent
The Town certifies 60,966.00 spent, all of it in FY2024 through FY2026.
- 60,000.00 to ICCDAA for opioid related treatment and counseling. That is 8,000.00 in FY2024, 28,000.00 in FY2025 and 24,000.00 in FY2026. The FY2024 report files it under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. The FY2026 report files it under Treatment.
- 966.00 for A Community Mental Health and Wellness Symposium Opioid Overdose Awareness Education in FY2024, a one time event for young people.
Treatment and counseling for opioid use disorder can fall within the listed uses. So can a prevention symposium. With no contract, invoice, purchase order or ledger produced, this project cannot confirm what was bought or when it was paid.
The FY2025 report gives the ICCDAA funding as 6,000.00 quarterly. Four quarters at that rate is 24,000.00. The report certifies 28,000.00. The FY2026 report lists ICCDAA as a new program funded 07/01/2025, with a launch date of 07/01/2023 and a duration of one year. It also carries an update block for the 2024 ICCDAA program that reprints 24,000.00 under the FY2025 period label. This project does not add that block to the FY2026 total.
What the reports show
The FY2025 report certifies 185,791.16 received since 2022 and 28,000.00 spent in the year. With the 8,966.00 spent in FY2024, the Town had spent 36,966.00 in all. It certifies 0.00 encumbered and 0.00 unspent and uncommitted on hand. By its own figures 148,825.16 was left. The FY2026 report then certifies 11,693.07 on hand. That is the year's receipts of 35,693.07 less the year's 24,000.00, to the cent. Received since 2022 less everything spent leaves 160,518.23. Both reports leave out the same 148,825.16. Reported 0.00 on hand while 148,825.16 was never spent.
| Report | Received since 2022 | Spent to date | Encumbered in the period | Received less spent and encumbered | Certified on hand | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 133,131.89 | 8,966.00 | 16,000.00 | 108,165.89 | 85,904.83 | 22,261.06 less |
| FY2025 | 185,791.16 | 36,966.00 | 0.00 | 148,825.16 | 0.00 | 148,825.16 less |
| FY2026 | 221,484.23 | 60,966.00 | 0.00 | 160,518.23 | 11,693.07 | 148,825.16 less |
The FY2024 balance is also below what the report's figures give. If the 20,396.02 the FY2023 report says was encumbered for the schools program was still committed, it accounts for most of that year's gap. 1,865.04 would remain. No report says what happened to that commitment.
The FY2024 report certifies 16,000.00 encumbered on page 1. Its two program blocks report 16,966.00. The symposium block reports 966.00 expended and 966.00 encumbered for a one time event held 04/10/2024. Counted a 966.00 symposium as spent and still committed.
What is missing
The Town has produced no ledger, budget account status or audit trail for its settlement money. Without one, this project cannot say whether the 60,966.00 was paid, in which year, or to whom. It cannot say where the 148,825.16 the last two reports leave out is held. The account that would answer both questions is owed.