Report

Monroe Township, Middlesex County

Monroe Township in Middlesex County received 173,783.27 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2025 and has paid out 4,890.91, most of it on health fair t-shirts, candy and a bingo game it also buys from its own budget.

Published 09/23/2026 · Updated 10/03/2026

TLDR

Monroe Township received 173,783.27 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2025. It has paid out 4,890.91.
The first 1,390.91 bought a health fair. T-shirts, candy, snack boxes, wristbands, pens and a bingo game.
The bingo game cost 29.04 on the opioid account. Two months later the Township bought the same game at the same price and charged it to Recreation.
In FY2023 the Township certified 58,190.00 of funding for a program called L.E.A.D. It had received 40,906.73.
A year end journal books 14,651.03 as opioid spending. No vendor was paid.

The Township reported the health fair to the State accurately, to the cent. The health fair was t-shirts and candy.

Summary

Monroe Township, Middlesex County, received 173,783.27 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2025, by its FY2025 report to the Department of Human Services. The money may be spent only on the opioid abatement uses listed in the settlements. This is a different town from Monroe Township in Gloucester County.

The Township keeps the money in two accounts. Trust account T-12-00-845-000-012 and grant account G-02-41-780-000-000 are both titled National Opioid Settlement. Through 09/01/2026 the two accounts have paid vendors and one individual 4,890.91.

1,390.91 went to a health fair on 05/11/2024.
3,500.00 went to The Black Poster Project on 05/05/2026.

Of the health fair money, 1,121.31 bought t-shirts, candy, snacks and event supplies. This project found the Township buying the same kinds of items from the same vendor on its ordinary budget lines, before and after. One item, a bingo game, appears on both at the same price. The State settlement terms bar settlement money from replacing existing municipal spending.

The Township's reports to the State match its books for FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026. The FY2023 report certifies program funding larger than everything the Township had received. A journal entry of 12/31/2025 makes the grant account show 18,151.03 spent against 3,500.00 actually paid.

This project grades Monroe Township F. None of the money paid out has been shown to go to a listed use or a documented, evidence-based program. The grade is on the Monroe Township page.

How this report was prepared

The account audit trails, the vendor histories and the reports to the State were obtained from the Township and the State under the Open Public Records Act. They are posted on the Monroe Township page. Every figure below comes from those records.

What the settlement money bought

The trust account paid three purchase orders in June 2024. The account audit trail lists them.

Paid	Check	PO	Payee and description	Amount
06/06/2024	140699	24001388	Coby Graphics LLC, short sleeve t-shirts and art fee	380.00
06/06/2024	140770	24001551	Health fair reimbursement to an individual	269.60
06/27/2024	141196	24001451	W.B. Mason Co., Inc., event supplies	741.31

The W.B. Mason order has ten lines.

Line	Item	Amount
1	Johnson and Johnson all purpose first aid	143.28
2	Sharpie fine tip permanent markers	112.32
3	Pressman Toy Bingo	29.04
4	Jolly Rancher hard candy	45.58
5	Mars chocolate favorites minis	79.56
6	Paper Mate InkJoy pens	72.75
7	Tyvek wristbands	69.47
8	Snack Box Pros healthy snack boxes	85.99
9	Eco Brites tri-fold boards	43.72
10	Pacon colored poly folders	59.60
	Total	741.31

The Coby Graphics order is t-shirts at 350.00 and an art fee at 30.00. The Coby Graphics vendor history shows no other purchase from this printer between 01/01/2018 and 09/01/2026. The FY2024 report names no evidence-based prevention model for the fair. Promotional apparel is not among the uses Exhibit E lists. See the t-shirt finding.

The 269.60 reimbursement went to the individual the FY2023 report names as the administrator of the fund. No receipt or itemization was produced. What it paid for is not in the record.

The grant account has paid one vendor. It paid The Black Poster Project 3,500.00 on 05/05/2026, check 147421, against an invoice dated 04/07/2026. No contract, scope or deliverable was produced. The payment is on the grant account audit trail and the vendor history.

Received through 06/30/2025: 173,783.27
Paid through 09/01/2026: 4,890.91
Paid to a use shown to be approved: 0.00

The same bingo game, twice

The W.B. Mason vendor history runs 384 pages and covers 01/01/2018 to 09/01/2026. It shows where the Township charges these purchases when settlement money is not involved.

Date	PO	Line	Item	Amount	Charged to
04/30/2024	24001451	3	Pressman Toy Bingo	29.04	T-12-00-845-000-012 National Opioids Settlement
06/26/2024	24001939	15	Pressman Toy Bingo	29.04	4-01-28-370-000-373 Recreation Community Center Supplies

The orders are eight weeks apart. One was charged to settlement money. The other was charged to the Recreation budget.

The rest of the settlement order follows the same pattern. The vendor history shows Johnson and Johnson first aid on Recreation lines in 2022 and 2024. It shows wristbands on Recreation Community Center Supplies in 2019, on Senior Citizens Office Supplies in 2024 and on Recreation Playground Olympics in 2026. It shows Snack Box Pros and Mars chocolates on Celebration of Public Events in 2020 and 2022. It shows candy on operating lines in every year from 2018 to 2026.

The settlement order paid for event supplies the Township buys from its own budget. See the bingo finding.

What the Township told the State

FY2024

The FY2024 report lists 151,833.43 received since 2022 and 1,390.91 expended. It lists one program, the Monroe Township Health and Wellness Fair of 05/11/2024. It says local high school students planned the fair with Township staff and County staff. It lists the costs as art and presentation supplies, t-shirts for participants, giveaways for resident attendees and coffee and bagels. It says attendees got "wrist bands, pens, candy" to encourage them to listen.

The three June 2024 purchase orders total 1,390.91. The report and the books agree to the cent. See the reconciliation.

Record	Amount
FY2024 report, expended	1,390.91
PO 24001388, Coby Graphics	380.00
PO 24001551, reimbursement	269.60
PO 24001451, W.B. Mason	741.31
Paid, per the ledger	1,390.91

The report answers 0.00 to administrative expenses at question 8. At question 8a it calls the 1,390.91 "The total administrative cost for the event." The report lists 150,442.52 unspent. That is 151,833.43 less 1,390.91.

FY2025

The FY2025 report lists 21,949.84 received in the year, 173,783.27 received since 2022 and 0.00 expended. It lists 172,392.36 unspent. It answers N/A to the Township's goals and to how it decided to use the money. It answers No to public engagement, a strategic plan, a risk assessment and new programs. Neither account shows a payment between 07/01/2024 and 06/30/2025. The report and the books agree.

FY2023

The FY2023 report lists 40,906.73 received and 0.00 expended as of 06/30/2023. It names one program.

Program: L.E.A.D.
Recipient: Township of Monroe
Target population: K-12 students
Date funded: 1/1/21
Amount of funding: 58,190.00
Description: "Still developing specific plans"
Launch date, clients seen, performance indicators, statement of impact: N/A

The program funding certified is 17,283.27 more than the Township had received. The funding date is before the first settlement distribution in 2022.

Neither opioid account shows a posting for L.E.A.D. in any year through 09/01/2026. The W.B. Mason vendor history shows a police budget line named Police L.E.A.D, account ending 01-25-240-000-283. It was charged for pencils, pens, binders and paper in 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The 2026 order is marked for youth academy. That line is paid from the Township's own budget. See the L.E.A.D. finding.

FY2026

The State published the FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It lists 11,300.43 received in the year, 185,083.70 received since 2022, 3,500.00 expended, 0.00 encumbered and 201,082.90 unspent. It names one new program, the Black Poster Project, funded 04/09/2026 at 3,500.00 and fully spent. The report describes it as a one time event that highlights the stories of people who lost their lives to overdose and addiction, for high school students and the public, with 500 people served. It files the program under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention.

The grant account paid The Black Poster Project 3,500.00 on 05/05/2026, check 147421. It is the only vendor payment between 07/01/2025 and 06/30/2026. The report and the books agree to the cent. The report does not count the year end journal below as spending.

The year end journal

On 12/31/2025 journal G 9921 posted two lines to the grant account. Both are described "correct gl." Both are typed Expenditure. The reserve account inquiry shows the other side.

Journal G 9921	Account	Amount
Line 4, debit	G-02-41-780-000-000 National Opioid Settlement	3,350.60
Line 5, debit	G-02-41-780-000-000 National Opioid Settlement	11,300.43
Line 6, credit	5-02-214-40-700-000 Unappropriated Grant Reserves	14,651.03

No vendor is paid. The money moved off the opioid appropriation into a reserve.

The 11,300.43 equals three settlement receipts posted in November 2025. Walmart 283.81, Teva 3,878.22 and CVS 7,138.40. No receipt of 3,350.60 appears on the account. The 3,350.60 equals the gap between the account's original grant of 207,933.50 and its current budget of 204,582.90.

The Township says both amounts were receipts held in the reserve until the 2026 budget appropriates them. The reserve inquiry through 12/31/2026 shows the one credit and no debit. The grant account print of 09/01/2026 shows no amendment or transfer. The journal voucher and its support were asked for and not produced.

Because the journal lines are typed as spending, the account print of 05/28/2026 shows Expended YTD of 18,151.03. The only vendor payment on the account is 3,500.00. See the journal finding.