Maple Shade Township
Maple Shade Township spends its opioid settlement money mostly on police overtime for a walk-in referral program, and its reports to the State understated the money on hand in FY2025 and FY2026 and certified a school assembly and a restaurant bill as that program.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Maple Shade put most of its settlement money into police overtime. The officers staff Straight to Treatment, a walk-in program in the police department lobby.
- The FY2025 report says the Township had 65,452.97 on hand. By the report's own figures it had 123,365.32. The missing 57,912.35 is every dollar it received that year.
- The FY2026 report says it had 123,544.13 on hand. Its own figures give 133,155.36.
- The walk-in program got billed for a 9,200.00 high school assembly and a 1,267.00 restaurant bill. The reports say the program never changed.
- The FY2024 report says the Township funded no programs. The same page says it spent 20,552.48 on one.
- The FY2026 report counts 485.36 of overtime the Township had already moved to a county prosecutor's grant.
The FY2025 report told the State the Township had 65,452.97 on hand. It had 123,365.32.
Summary
Maple Shade Township, Burlington County, reported receiving 220,456.55 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. In either case the money must supplement local spending, not replace it.
The settlement money sits in account G-02-201-41-780-020, National Opioid Settlement Proceeds. A second account, G-02-201-41-780-030, holds one 2024 reclass of payroll from the first. Through 08/20/2026 the accounts paid 90,607.75 net.
| Payee | Purchase | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Police payroll | Straight to Treatment overtime, net of 864.10 moved to another grant | 74,397.75 |
| THoffman Enterprises LLC | Drug and mental health presentation | 9,200.00 |
| V.E. Ralph and Son | Narcan nasal spray, two orders | 4,560.00 |
| V.E. Ralph and Son | Line printed as Community Outreach Nolax | 508.00 |
| Carrabba's | Police community outreach, 03/28/2026 | 1,267.00 |
| Maple Shade First Aid Squad | Outreach event | 675.00 |
| Total | 90,607.75 |
This project classes the overtime and the Narcan, 78,957.75, as conforming. The Carrabba's bill, 1,267.00, is non-conforming. The other 10,383.00 is unverified. Read the Township's findings.
Straight to Treatment
The FY2023 report names one program, the Straight to Treatment Program, run by the Maple Shade Police Department under the category Treatment. It says anyone can walk into the police department and ask for help with an addiction, and that treatment providers come to the station every Monday evening. It reports about 40 clients by 06/30/2023. The FY2026 report says an officer sits in the lobby once a week for anyone who needs to find resources for rehabilitation.
The account shows a payroll charge every two weeks from 01/12/2023, described as Straight2Treatmt(Opioid$)Grant. The Township's payroll allocation report lists each charge by officer and pay date under department 240-POLICE, on an overtime code named Straight 2 Treatment (Opioid). The same report carries a second overtime code for the county prosecutor's Operation Helping Hand grant, which pays from account G-02-201-41-550-011.
Self-referral programs at police departments are among the uses Exhibit E lists. No record of hours worked or persons referred has been produced. The FY2023 report is the only one that gives a client count.
What Maple Shade told the State
Each town with a direct share files an annual report with the Department of Human Services. Each of Maple Shade's reports certifies one program, Straight to Treatment, and puts the whole year's spending in it.
| Report | Received in the year | Certified spent | Paid from the account | Certified on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 44,489.68 | 12,462.37 | 12,452.37 | not asked |
| FY2024 | 82,819.98 | 20,552.48 | 20,562.48 | 94,294.81 |
| FY2025 | 57,912.35 | 28,841.84 | 28,841.84 | 65,452.97 |
| FY2026 | 35,234.54 | 25,444.50 | 24,959.14 | 123,544.13 |
The FY2023 figure is 10.00 above the books and the FY2024 figure is 10.00 below. The two net out. The records do not identify the 10.00 item.
The FY2024 report answers No when asked whether the Township funded any programs in the year. The same page says it spent 20,552.48 on Straight to Treatment. Said it funded no programs, then reported 20,552.48 spent.
FY2025 ties to the cent. Its 28,841.84 includes 9,200.00 to THoffman Enterprises LLC for a drug and mental health presentation, which the report describes as an assembly the Township sponsored at the local high school. The report certifies the whole 28,841.84 to Straight to Treatment and says the program had no modifications or expansions. A school assembly is not a walk-in referral at the police department. Certified a 9,200.00 school assembly as its walk-in program.
The FY2025 balance
The FY2025 report certifies 57,912.35 received in the year, 185,222.01 received since 2022 and 65,452.97 on hand. The three reports through FY2025 certify 61,856.69 spent. Received less spent is 123,365.32.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Received since 2022, FY2025 report | 185,222.01 |
| Spent, FY2023 to FY2025 reports | 61,856.69 |
| On hand by the report's own figures | 123,365.32 |
| On hand as certified | 65,452.97 |
| Difference | 57,912.35 |
The certified figure is the FY2024 report's 94,294.81 on hand less the FY2025 spending. It is also the balance the audit trail prints after the 06/26/2025 payroll charge. That balance is the grant appropriation, not the money on hand. The Township added the FY2025 receipts to the appropriation only after the year closed, by journal 2022 for 41,667.24 on 08/01/2025 and journal 2080 for 16,245.11 on 12/01/2025. The two journals equal the two FY2025 receipt groups on the Township's receipts schedule and sum to 57,912.35. Left 57,912.35 of the year's receipts out of money on hand.
FY2026
The State published the Township's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 35,234.54 received, 25,444.50 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 123,544.13 on hand. It updates Straight to Treatment at 25,444.50 and says the Township funded a one time outreach program, an event at a local apartment complex.
The account charged 25,444.50 in the year. That is 24 overtime charges, 675.00 to the Maple Shade First Aid Squad for an outreach event and 1,267.00 to Carrabba's for a police community outreach on 03/28/2026. On 06/25/2026 the Township moved 485.36 of overtime off the account to the Operation Helping Hand grant. The account's net spending for the year is 24,959.14. The report certifies the gross. Certified 485.36 of overtime it moved to another grant.
Carrabba's is a restaurant. Its vendor history shows advisory board lunches and a holiday luncheon on other lines, and this one bill on the settlement account. The report puts the bill inside Straight to Treatment. A restaurant bill is not among the uses Exhibit E lists, and no listed use covers it. Certified a 1,267.00 restaurant bill as treatment.
The FY2026 report certifies 123,544.13 on hand. The four reports certify 220,456.55 received and 87,301.19 spent. That leaves 133,155.36.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Received since 2022, FY2026 report | 220,456.55 |
| Spent, FY2023 to FY2026 reports | 87,301.19 |
| On hand by the reports' own figures | 133,155.36 |
| On hand as certified | 123,544.13 |
| Difference | 9,611.23 |
The account printed 128,200.15 at the end of June. The certified figure is its 08/20/2026 balance of 124,408.23 less the two overtime credits of 485.36 and 378.74. Understated FY2026 money on hand by 9,611.23.
On 07/09/2026 the Township moved the 378.74 of overtime the same way as the 485.36. The FY2026 report answers No to having a strategic plan and No to a risk assessment.
What the records do not show
The update to the settlement account opens 05/01/2026 at 131,542.22. The earlier print shows 101,748.25 at that point. Entries of 29,793.97, dated before 05/01/2026, appear on neither print. The amount equals the 2026 subtotal on the Township's receipts schedule. No posting record for it has been produced.
The receipts schedule itself does not add up. Its line items total 218,410.80. It prints a total received to date of 211,621.16. Its FY2026 lines run to 05/11/2026 and total 33,188.79. The FY2026 report certifies 35,234.54 received in the year. No receipt record after 05/11/2026 has been produced.
The First Aid Squad payment of 675.00 is the outreach event the FY2026 report describes at a local apartment complex. No record of what the squad provided has been produced.
No print of account G-02-201-41-780-030 after 06/04/2026 has been produced.
What should happen
The State relies on these reports to know how much settlement money each town still holds. The FY2025 report understated Maple Shade's by 57,912.35 and the FY2026 report by 9,611.23. The reports put a school assembly and a restaurant bill inside a walk-in treatment program and count overtime the Township paid from another grant.
The Department of Human Services can compare each report's balance with the Township's receipts and spending. The Township can produce the records of the Straight to Treatment shifts, the posting record for the 29,793.97 and a schedule of receipts that adds up.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.