Pequannock Township
Pequannock Township spent its first settlement dollars by moving police LEAD program costs, already paid from the police budget, onto its opioid account by journal.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Pequannock Township held its settlement money untouched for almost four years.
- The first 2,621.78 it spent were police bills it had already paid. A LEAD workbook order and two Atlantic City hotel rooms for officers at the LEAD convention.
- The Township paid both from police lines on 04/28/2026. The next day two journals moved them onto the opioid account.
- The police budget had paid for LEAD since at least 2019. The FY2026 report dates the program to 2016.
- The report says LEAD was funded on 09/09/2025. No settlement money moved until 04/17/2026. On 09/09/2025 a youth trust paid for LEAD T-shirts.
- It lists LEAD conference costs as administration and certifies 0.00 of administration.
- Its own figures leave 782.22 unaccounted for.
The settlement money did not add a program. It refilled a police budget line.
Summary
Pequannock Township, Morris County, reports receiving 160,323.30 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2026. Its books agree to the cent. The money must go to the abatement uses the national settlements list, or to documented programs that address the epidemic. It must add to local spending, not replace it.
Through 06/30/2026 the Township spent 2,621.78 of it. A 1,596.00 order followed on 07/14/2026. All 4,217.78 is the cost of the police LEAD program, Law Enforcement Against Drugs, a classroom drug prevention course taught by officers. The police budget carried that program before the settlement money did. This project classifies the 2,621.78 as non-conforming because the police budget paid it first and the journals moved it. The 1,596.00 registration order is unverified. The police budget never paid it, and the record does not settle whether a listed use covers it. Read the Township's findings.
What the Township received
The settlement money first sat in a current fund reserve named Reserve for Police Programs Opioid Settlement. On 06/29/2023 the Township moved the 32,354.36 balance to an unappropriated grant reserve, account 02-214-00-030. Receipts kept arriving there. Through 08/31/2026 the Township received 181,805.66.
On 04/17/2026 the Township appropriated 5,000.00 from the reserve to a new account, 02-213-50-815-4621, 2026 Opioid Funds LEAD Program. No other settlement money has been appropriated. The reserve held 176,805.66 on 08/31/2026.
What it told the State
| Year | Certified received to date | Certified spent | Books, same window |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 39,844.66 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2024 | 96,895.96 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2025 | 134,699.57 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2026 | 160,323.30 | 2,621.78 | 2,621.78 |
The FY2023 to FY2025 reports certify nothing spent, and the books show nothing spent. They agree.
The FY2023 report certifies 39,844.66 received as of 06/30/2023. The books show 32,354.36 by that date. The 7,490.30 National Opioids Settlement receipt that makes up the difference posted on 08/03/2023. The FY2024 report then certifies 57,051.30 received in its year, where the books show 64,541.60. The totals agree again at 06/30/2024. Counted an 08/03/2023 deposit as received by 06/30/2023.
The FY2026 report certifies 2,621.78 spent and 1,596.00 encumbered. It names one program, LEAD, funded at 5,000.00. It describes the program as drug prevention through classroom education for children through eighth grade. It files it under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training and the Schedule B strategy Prevent Misuse of Opioids. It gives the launch date as 1/1/2016 and calls it an annually recurring program.
The report says LEAD was funded on 9/9/2025. The reserve print from 01/01/2022 to 08/31/2026 shows one appropriation of settlement money, 5,000.00 on 04/17/2026, which opened the LEAD account under Resolution 2026-123. The one LEAD payment the produced books show on 09/09/2025 is check 79330, 4,988.00 for Pequannock LEAD T-shirts, paid from the Cash Trust Youth Development account. Gave LEAD a 09/09/2025 funding date the books do not show.
The report lists LEAD program conference related expenses where it asks for administrative expense details. It certifies 0.00 of administrative expense. The 713.28 convention hotel bill it paid in the year sits inside the 2,621.78 it certifies as prevention spending. Certified 0.00 administration beside LEAD conference costs.
The report certifies 160,323.30 received to date, 2,621.78 spent, 1,596.00 encumbered and 155,323.30 unspent. Those figures leave 782.22 unaccounted for. The LEAD page certifies 2,378.22 appropriated or encumbered, not 1,596.00. On 06/30/2026 the LEAD account held 2,378.22, of which 782.22 had no order against it. The reserve held 155,323.30. Encumbered 1,596.00 on page one and 2,378.22 on the program.
What the records show
On 04/20/2026 the Police Department wrote three orders for the 2026 LEAD program, all against police budget lines.
| Order | Vendor | Purchase | Police line | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103027 | Princeton Health Press | Curriculum set and 300 student workbooks | 3020 Community Policing | 1,908.50 |
| 103025 | Harrah's Resort AC | Two hotel rooms, 05/31 to 06/03/2026, LEAD convention | 0041 Education and Conferences | 713.28 |
| 103026 | L.E.A.D. Inc | Four officer convention registrations | 3020 Community Policing | 1,596.00 |
| Total | 4,217.78 |
Checks 80684 and 80650 paid the first two orders from the police lines on 04/28/2026. On 04/29/2026 journal 99 moved the 1,908.50 onto the opioid account and journal 100 moved the 713.28. Each reads Correct PO, Should be Opioid Grant for LEAD. The same day the registration order was removed from the police line and added to the opioid account. Check 81067 paid it on 07/14/2026.
The two journals are the 2,621.78 the FY2026 report certifies, to the cent. The open registration order is the 1,596.00 it certifies as encumbered.
The police budget had paid for this program before. Police education and conference funds paid two L.E.A.D. Inc convention registrations on 04/09/2019 and LEAD convention hotel reimbursements on 05/28/2019 and 04/11/2023. Community Policing paid L.E.A.D. Inc for a Too Good for Drugs kit on 12/16/2025. The Township adopted the Community Policing line at 10,000.00 on 04/02/2026. After the journals it stood at 10,713.28, because journal 100 credited it for a hotel bill a different line had paid. Moved police LEAD costs onto the opioid fund by journal.
What should happen
The 2,621.78 covered costs the police budget had already paid. The Township can restore that money to its settlement reserve and spend it on a listed use or a documented abatement program that adds to what it already funds.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.