Livingston Township
Livingston Township sends its opioid settlement money to the County of Essex, and two years running it told the State it had sent all of it while its own books show less going out than it certified coming in.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Livingston Township does not spend its opioid settlement money. It sends it to the County of Essex.
- Its FY2025 and FY2026 reports each tell the State it transferred all of its funds to the county.
- By 06/30/2026 the Township had sent 98,412.22. Its FY2026 report certifies 146,141.21 received.
- Its own receipts listing totals 99,966.32. That is 46,174.89 below what it certified.
- A third payment to the County, 16,010.50, was ordered 08/01/2026. It was still unpaid on 09/01/2026.
- Its FY2024 report certifies 37,587.45 committed. No purchase order existed until 02/25/2025.
The reports cannot be squared with the books. The records do not say which side is wrong.
Summary
Livingston Township, Essex County, receives a direct share of the national opioid settlements. The 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. A municipality may also direct its share to its county.
Livingston chose the county. An Interlocal Agreement effective 11/01/2024 directs the Township's settlement proceeds to the County of Essex. The Essex County Board of County Commissioners approved it by Resolution R-2025-00034 on 01/15/2025.
The Township's Cash Receipts Opioids Settlement listing shows 18 settlement receipts dated 04/27/2023 to 05/01/2026, 99,966.32 in all. The Township has never paid a vendor or a program from the money. Every dollar that has left its settlement accounts went to the County.
This project classes those payments as transfers to the county. No dollar of the Township's money is classed conforming, non-conforming or unverified, because the Township has spent none of it. Read the Township's findings.
Where the money went
| Date | Purchase order | Payment | From account | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/06/2025 | 25-00840 line 1 | Check 61983 | 2023 grant account | 25,077.03 |
| 03/06/2025 | 25-00840 line 2 | Check 61983 | 2024 grant account | 30,640.34 |
| 05/29/2026 | 26-02408 line 1 | Wire | 2025 grant account | 36,709.58 |
| 05/29/2026 | 26-02408 line 2 | Wire | 2026 grant account | 5,985.27 |
| Paid to the County of Essex | 98,412.22 | |||
| 08/01/2026 | 26-03879 line 1 | Open on 09/01/2026 | 2026 grant account | 16,010.50 |
| Paid and committed | 114,422.72 |
Check 61983 is made out to the Essex County Division of Treasury for 136,437.45. The check register splits it into five lines. The two opioid lines carry 55,717.37. The other 80,720.08 is charged to Township current fund account 5-01-65-100-000-205 on purchase order 25-00839.
The 05/29/2026 wire posted to the Township's current fund bank account as a debit of 42,694.85, described as Livingston County Opioid Settlement. The voucher for purchase order 26-02408 carries one signature, the chief financial officer's approval to purchase.
The agreement with the County
The Interlocal Agreement asks the County to use the money for approved uses in treatment, prevention and other strategies, based on needs and gaps in the Essex County Opioid Use Disorder Needs Assessment. It also requires the County to give the Township, within 30 days of each 06/30 in which the County spends the money, the information the Township needs for its annual report to the State.
The agreement names Township Resolution 24-260. The Township did not produce that resolution.
What Livingston told the State
Each town with a direct share files an annual report with the Department of Human Services. The State's fiscal year runs 07/01 to 06/30.
| Report | Received in year | Received since 2022 | Expended | Encumbered | Transfer status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 25,077.03 to date | 25,077.03 | 0.00 | not asked | did not transfer |
| FY2024 | 37,587.45 | 62,664.48 | 0.00 | 37,587.45 | did not transfer |
| FY2025 | 67,349.92 | 130,014.40 | not asked | not asked | transferred all |
| FY2026 | 16,126.81 | 146,141.21 | not asked | not asked | transferred all |
The FY2023 and FY2024 reports certify nothing spent. The books agree. No payment left any settlement account before 03/06/2025.
The FY2024 report also certifies 37,587.45 appropriated or encumbered but not spent, the same figure as the year's receipts. It certifies 62,664.48 unspent or uncommitted on hand, the full cumulative receipt. The first purchase order on any settlement account is 25-00840 of 02/25/2025. The budget print of that day shows both settlement accounts with 0.00 encumbered. The 2024 account was budgeted at 30,640.34, not 37,587.45. The same money cannot be committed at one question and uncommitted at another. Certified 37,587.45 committed with no order on the books.
The report gives one answer to three questions on goals, method and public input. It says the Township will attend a county opioid meeting and then plans to transfer its money to the county.
The FY2025 report is one page. It answers four questions. It does not ask how much was transferred or spent. The FY2026 report is the same short form.
What the records show
The FY2025 report certifies 130,014.40 received and all of it transferred. Through 06/30/2025 one transfer had been made, check 61983 for 55,717.37. That is 74,297.03 less than the certified receipts.
The Township's own receipts listing shows 55,717.67 dated through 06/30/2025. Against that listing only 0.30 was left behind. Against the certified figure 74,297.03 was. Both cannot be true. FY2025 report said all funds sent, 55,717.37 had gone.
| Fiscal year | Certified received in year | Receipts dated in year on the Township listing |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 25,077.03 | 20,362.86 |
| FY2024 | 37,587.45 | 34,153.96 |
| FY2025 | 67,349.92 | 1,200.85 |
| FY2026 | 16,126.81 | 44,248.65 |
| Total | 146,141.21 | 99,966.32 |
The FY2025 figure of 67,349.92 equals the 2024 grant account budget of 30,640.34 plus the 2025 grant account budget of 36,709.58, to the cent. The listing dates 29,439.49 of the 2024 money to 04/30/2024, inside FY2024. It dates all of the 2025 money after FY2025 closed. The certified 130,014.40 since 2022 is 25,077.03 plus 37,587.45 plus 30,640.34 plus 36,709.58. It adds the FY2024 certified receipts and the 2024 account budget both.
The FY2023 report counts 25,077.03 received as of 06/30/2023. The listing dates 4,714.17 of it to 08/02/2023. The two 2025 revenue entries on the listing are labeled unappropriated and Chapter 159, so their dates may be booking dates and not the day the cash arrived. The listing is undated and prints no range.
FY2026
The State published the Township's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026.
It certifies 16,126.81 received in the year, 146,141.21 since 2022, and all funds transferred to the county. By 06/30/2026 the Township had sent the County 98,412.22. That is 47,728.99 less than the certified receipts.
Against the Township's own listing, 1,554.10 had not been sent at 06/30/2026. It is the 05/01/2026 Chapter 159 receipt of 1,553.80 and 0.30 left in the 2024 revenue account. Between 05/28/2026 and 08/01/2026 the Township added 16,010.50 to its 2026 grant account. On 08/01/2026 it ordered that sum paid to the County. The order was unpaid on 09/01/2026. No receipt on the listing covers it. Certified all funds sent to the County, 47,728.99 short.
The certified 16,126.81 matches no figure in the books.
The County's side
The County of Essex budgeted the Township's 55,717.37 on 09/08/2025 and its 42,694.85 on 07/30/2026, according to the County's account workbook. The County's FY2025 report does not count the 55,717.37 among its receipts. Its FY2026 report counts the 42,694.85.
The agreement leaves the spending to the County. The Township still files its own report each year, and those reports are what this page tests.
Records
The Township produced its receipts and disbursement listings, a grant account audit trail printed 09/01/2026, the vouchers for both transfers, the check register and bank images for both payments, and the County resolution with the signed agreement. It did not produce Township Resolution 24-260, the voucher packet for purchase order 25-00840, the back of check 61983, or any record of the County's receipt of the money.