New Milford Borough

Summary

New Milford Borough, Bergen County, reports receiving 76,765.83 in opioid settlement money from 2022 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 settlement account the Borough produced is appropriation account 01-2910-99-7800, Nat'l Opioid Settlement. Its account detail printed 05/28/2026 shows 27,270.49 paid out in 13 payments and journals between 10/11/2023 and 12/02/2025, and nothing after that through the print date. The Borough did not produce the account for later dates.

This project classifies 5,932.32 of that spending as conforming, 19,028.17 as non-conforming and 2,310.00 as unverified. How the project classifies spending is set out in the methodology. Read the Borough's findings.

Where the money went

The Narcan training, the Narcan cases, the speakers and the officers' opioid use disorder course are among the uses Exhibit E lists. Of the 20,603.17 paid to the Borough, 1,575.00 is for the five officers registered in that course. The project treats it as conforming.

The Borough paid the same Elks conference 1,560.00 in December 2022 from a different account, 01-2910-99-7700-022, before the settlement account paid anything. The record does not show why that source stopped, and the Borough's report does not describe the conference as opioid or substance use prevention. The project marks the two Elks payments unverified.

The police payroll reimbursements

Seven charges, 20,603.17 in all, paid the Borough itself. Six of them follow a Police Department request to the Borough Clerk that lists officers, dates, hours, rates and events and asks for reimbursement through the National Opioid Settlement Account. The seventh, 1,575.00, registered five officers for the opioid use disorder course. The request of 11/30/2023 names the destination: "We are requesting funds be reimbursed into our Overtime Account # 01-2010-25-2401-131 through National Opioid Settlement Account."

The police salary reports show where the money landed.

The hours behind them are Drug Alliance meetings, DEA Take Back details, L.E.A.D. classes for 5th graders at two schools, L.E.A.D. instructor training, Project Graduation night details at the high school, community events and Crisis Intervention Team class days.

The FY2024 report asks how the Borough decided the best way to use the money. The Borough's whole answer is: "We have used the money for programs we already participate in to offset expenses." The FY2025 answer is "Continuation of prior programs and continued education."

The 2025 police salary and wages line was budgeted at 4,506,200.00. The Borough moved 120,000.00 into it on 12/15/2025 and 20,000.00 on 12/30/2025. It still closed the year with 4,815,450.77 charged against 4,646,200.00, 169,250.77 over. The 8,914.79 settlement credit posted to the same line on 12/02/2025.

A drug take-back day or a school prevention class can be a listed use. This project classifies these reimbursements as non-conforming because the settlement money paid back police overtime and salary appropriations the Borough had already adopted and was already paying, which is what the FY2024 answer describes. Section D(7) of the agreement between the State and its towns, and N.J.S.A. 26:2G-39(f), require the money to add to local spending and not replace it.

What the Borough told the State

• FY2023. One program, D.E.A.'s National Drug Take Back, funded at 272.20 with the note that the funds had not been disbursed. Nothing certified spent. The books agree.
• FY2024. DEA Drug Takeback at 691.08 and Police Participation in Municipal Alliance at 1,926.54. The report describes the Alliance program as a committee that "meets regularly to plan various awareness events." The money paid police overtime for Alliance meetings and events and a Take Back detail.
• FY2025. Seven programs. Each ties to one payment except the Operational Readiness course, certified at 3,825.60 against two payments totaling 3,825.00. The Police Participation program, 6,022.26, is described as "Various programs including LEAD, Project Graduation, Black Balloon, etc."
• FY2026. A new Crisis Intervention Team Training program and updates to Police Participation in Municipal Alliance, DEA Drug Takeback and the Elks conference. The report also certifies 20,000.00 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent and 30,465.64 on hand.

FY2026

The FY2026 report certifies Crisis Intervention Team Training at 5,298.47. It names the New Milford Police Department as recipient and describes "5 day 40 hour certification for first responders giving an in depth look at mental illness and its implications for first responders." It gives the funding and launch date as 12/02/2025, 5 individuals served, and the primary category Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. It updates Police Participation in Municipal Alliance at 3,296.84 and DEA Drug Takeback at 319.48.

The three figures add to 8,914.79. The settlement account shows one entry for that amount, a journal dated 12/02/2025 reading POLICE SW OFFICER OPIOID PROG PARTICIPATION. The police salary and wages regular line shows the same 8,914.79 on the same day as OPIOID PROG PARTICIPATION REIMB.

The Police Department's request of 12/02/2025 lists what the journal paid for.

Of the 8,914.79, 8,126.31 is officer time dated 01/28/2025 to 06/24/2025, in the year before the report's period and before the program's launch date. The report never says the money reimbursed police salaries. Certified police salaries as CIT and Alliance programs.

The fourth FY2026 program, the Elks conference at 1,155.00, is check 32717 of 11/24/2025. With the journal it makes the certified 10,069.79 to the cent.

FY2024

The FY2024 report certifies 2,617.62 spent. The account paid 3,588.52 in that year.

The Police Participation figure, 1,926.54, is the seven lines of the 11/30/2023 request dated 07/01/2023 or later. Its three lines dated in April, May and June 2023, 698.70, were left out. The 272.20 check, listed in FY2023 as not yet disbursed, never appears as spent. The FY2025 report went the other way and certified a whole 6,022.26 request that includes 5,913.52 of officer time from March to June 2024. Across all four reports the Borough certifies 26,300.19 spent. The account paid 27,270.49 through 05/28/2026. FY2024 report left out 970.90 of police overtime paid.

What should happen

The Borough can restore to the settlement fund the 19,028.17 of police payroll reimbursements this project classifies as non-conforming, and spend it on a listed use or a documented abatement program.

The State relies on these reports to verify how the money is used. The Department of Human Services can examine the FY2024 and FY2026 reports and the records behind the 12/02/2025 journal.

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