Little Ferry Borough

Summary

Little Ferry Borough, Bergen County, reports receiving 56,140.67 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 Borough's settlement account, G-02-41-800-020, National Opioid Settlement Grant, shows 17,812.24 paid between 01/01/2022 and 08/30/2026. The only open order is a 0.01 blanket control. No police equipment, vehicle or salary was charged to it. Read the Borough's findings.

Where the money went

This project classes the speaker's fees, 11,575.00, as conforming. The reports describe the program, and prevention education for students and parents is a use Exhibit E lists. The 02/10/2026 merchandise order, 2,697.44, and the movie night, 699.00, are non-conforming. No evidence-based program built on either is documented. The two other orders from the promotional products vendor, 2,840.80, are unverified, because the record does not show what the items were or what they said.

What the Borough told the State

The State's reporting year runs 07/01 to 06/30.

FY2023. The Borough reported 11,087.77 received and 0.00 spent as of 06/30/2023. It planned one program, Educating Students and the Public on the Opioid Crisis, at 4,500.00, for high school juniors and seniors and their parents, with a target date of October 2023.

FY2024. The Borough certified 24,537.37 received, 2,744.90 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 32,681.29 unspent on hand. It listed one program, named Borough of Little Ferry, at 2,744.90, described as education and materials to youth and families. It gave the primary category as Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. It reported 400 participants and one session, and said the presenter would speak about his own battle with opioids and his recovery. The same report answered No when asked whether the Borough funded any programs that year.

FY2025. The Borough certified 12,722.77 received, 4,375.00 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 45,040.05 unspent on hand. It updated the 2023 program with another seminar on 10/29/2024, at 4,375.00. It told the State the Police Department used the funds "to implement evidence-based school prevention programs proven to reduce youth substance use" and distributed outreach materials on education and treatment resources. The books show two payments in that year, check 4438 for the 10/29/2024 presentation and the 244.90 promotional order the FY2024 report had already counted.

FY2026. The State published the report on 10/01/2026. The Borough certified 7,792.76 received, 10,692.34 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 46,116.40 unspent on hand. It listed three programs.

• Opioid Awareness & Prevention Outreach Program, 5,293.34, primary category Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. The report says the program hands out educational materials and opioid-free promotional items.
• Movies Under the Stars, 699.00, primary category Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention.
• Educating Students and the Public on the Opioid Crisis, an update, 4,700.00.

Each program figure ties to the books to the cent. The outreach program is the two promotional orders paid 10/14/2025 and 02/10/2026. The update is the 10/22/2025 speaker payment. The movie night is the 06/26/2026 payment.

The movie night

The FY2026 report names the program Movies Under the Stars and the recipient Premiere Productions LLC, which it describes as a movie production vendor. It files the program under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention, with the Schedule B strategies Prevent Misuse of Opioids and Prevent Overdose Deaths and Other Harms. It says opioid educational materials and promotional items were handed out to people at the event, and reports 100 individuals served.

The account paid Premiere Productions LLC 699.00 for the 06/27/2026 screening, by check 6847 on 06/26/2026. That is the certified figure to the cent. Exhibit E's harm reduction category lists naloxone, overdose response training, syringe service programs and similar services. A film screening is not among them. No prevention or harm reduction program built on the screening is documented. Certified a movie night as overdose harm reduction.

A July 2024 order in the FY2024 report

The FY2024 report covers 07/01/2023 to 06/30/2024 and certifies 2,744.90 spent. The account paid 2,500.00 in that period, the speaker's 11/07/2023 check. The other 244.90 is a promotional products order for drug abuse supplies. It was first encumbered on 07/18/2024 and paid on 08/14/2024, after the period closed.

The FY2025 report covers the period in which the 244.90 was paid. It certifies 4,375.00, the speaker's 10/08/2024 check alone. The account paid 4,619.90 in that period. Counted a July 2024 order as FY2024 spending.

The giveaways

The FY2026 report discloses the promotional items as promotional items under Primary Prevention. This project does not count that label as false. What the records show about the items is below.

The Borough's vendor report for Kaeser & Blair Inc., every account, 01/01/2018 to 09/01/2026, shows 29,199.59 paid. Of that, 23,661.35 came from the Police Department miscellaneous line and 5,538.24 from the settlement account. The police line's purchases begin with Coffee With A Cop mugs ordered 09/09/2020. They include Stigma Free Bottles, 1,261.86, ordered 05/23/2022, before the settlement account paid anything.

The police line ordered promotional supplies from the same vendor again on 02/24/2026, 839.59, and received air fresheners from it on 08/14/2026, 759.38. The line was adopted at 20,000.00 each year from 2020 to 2024, 22,500.00 in 2025 and 29,000.00 in 2026. Check 4224 of 08/14/2024 paid the 244.90 settlement order and a police order for mini footballs, 276.07, together.

No record produced shows what the settlement items said or ties them to an evidence-based program. The record does not settle whether the settlement money replaced police spending, because the police line kept buying from the same vendor.

The unspent figures

The FY2025 report says the Borough had 45,040.05 unspent on hand. That is the account's running balance on the ledger after a budget journal of 05/28/2025, and it did not move until 10/14/2025. It is 3,812.04 more than the report's cumulative receipts, 48,347.91, less the 7,119.90 the Borough had certified as spent.

The FY2026 figure, 46,116.40, matches neither the ledger balance of 45,615.70 at 06/30/2026 nor the report's receipts less certified spending, 38,328.43. The account that receives the settlement deposits was not produced, so the cash on hand is not in the record.

What should happen

The Borough can return the 699.00 it paid for the movie night to the settlement account. For the giveaways, it can show the program they serve and the materials handed out, or return their cost to the fund.

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