Point Pleasant Borough
Point Pleasant Borough spent 70,425.54 of opioid settlement money on police defibrillators and police LEAD graduation T-shirts, both of which it had paid for from other funds before. It reported the defibrillators to the State as a new Recovery Supports program.
Published 09/23/2026 · Updated 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Point Pleasant Borough has paid 70,425.54 from its opioid settlement account. 68,178.79 went to Stryker for defibrillators and related equipment. 2,246.75 went to police LEAD graduation T-shirts and certificates.
- The Borough bought police defibrillators from its capital budget in 2018, 2022 and 2024. Its first opioid purchase took a 4,000.00 trade-in credit for a LIFEPAK it already owned.
- It told the State the defibrillators were a new program, filed under Recovery Supports.
- The same T-shirt vendor had been paid from other funds six times since 2018. In 2026 the order moved to the opioid account.
- The FY2024 report certifies 166,885.00 encumbered. No purchase order existed against the account until 03/28/2025.
- The FY2026 report certifies the next 29,868.59 defibrillator order as a Treatment program for overdose victims that served 0 people. It leaves the T-shirts out and counts 30,947.29 of receipts a second time.
Treatment, recovery, naloxone and prevention have received 0.00.
Summary
Point Pleasant Borough, Ocean County, has received settlement money into revenue account 01-0999-0330-0003 since 12/07/2023. The money may be spent only on the opioid abatement uses listed in the national settlements, and it may not replace existing local spending.
From 05/19/2025 through 08/28/2026 the opioid expenditure account 01-9999-0120-0000-2-09280 paid four checks totaling 70,425.54. Three paid Stryker Sales Corporation for defibrillators. One paid JCM Associates, LLC for police LEAD graduation T-shirts and certificates. The reserve for opioid settlement held 189,957.69 at 08/28/2026 (finding).
Both purchases replaced spending the Borough already carried. It had bought police defibrillators on capital accounts and paid for the T-shirts from a trust account and the police operating budget. N.J.S.A. 26:2G-39(f) bars settlement money from supplanting existing local spending.
The Borough's reports to the Department of Human Services describe the defibrillators as a new Recovery Supports program, and in FY2026 as treatment for overdose victims. They certify a 166,885.00 encumbrance with no commitment behind it. They count FY2026 receipts in FY2025 and leave FY2025 receipts out of the unspent balance.
Every figure in this report comes from the Borough's reports to the State and its own records, obtained through a records request. The records are posted on the Point Pleasant Borough page.
What the opioid account paid
| Paid | Check | Payee and description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/19/2025 | 19537 | Stryker Sales Corporation, ten LIFEPAK CR2 defibrillators for Police, less a 4,000.00 LIFEPAK trade-in | 27,068.40 |
| 01/12/2026 | 20220 | Stryker Sales Corporation, defibrillators | 29,868.59 |
| 04/20/2026 | 20462 | JCM Associates, LLC, Police LEAD graduation, 243 T-shirts and certificates | 2,246.75 |
| 08/17/2026 | 20830 | Stryker Sales Corporation | 11,241.80 |
- Paid, all payees: 70,425.54
- Stryker Sales Corporation: 68,178.79
- JCM Associates, LLC: 2,246.75
- Paid to a listed use or a documented abatement program: 0.00
The 05/19/2025 order lists ten LIFEPAK CR2 semi-automatic defibrillators at 28,732.00, ten QUIK-STEP pacing, ECG and defibrillation sets at 1,485.20 and ten emergency response kits at 416.00. It then deducts 4,000.00 for the trade-in of a Stryker LIFEPAK.
Sources: Stryker vendor history, Current Fund items selected for payment, 2025, JCM vendor history, opioid account detail, detail trial balance to 08/28/2026.
Defibrillators the Borough already bought
The Borough bought police defibrillators before it spent any settlement money.
| Paid | Check | Payee | Account | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/04/2018 | 1440 | Physio-Control, Inc., LIFEPAK defibrillators for Police | Capital 04-2018-201802-4028-43-04233, object Defibrillator | 17,986.00 |
| 07/25/2022 | 1850 | Stryker Sales Corporation, defibrillation electrodes for Police | Capital 04-2018-201802-4028-43-04233 | 396.00 |
| 01/08/2024 | 1958 | Physio-Control, Inc., defibrillators | Police capital 04-2016-201607-4028-43-04024 | 4,207.80 |
The 2018 capital line was appropriated at 18,400.00 for police defibrillators. After the settlement money arrived, the Borough paid for the next defibrillators from the opioid account. The first of those orders traded in a LIFEPAK the Borough already owned.
On 10/06/2025 the Borough raised two Stryker purchase orders. PO 20251380, later paid 11,241.80 on check 20830, went to the opioid account. PO 20251374, Equipment for Ambulance, 8,840.69, went to capital account 04-2024-202410-4156-50-04193. The same vendor's orders were split between capital and the settlement fund (finding).
Sources: capital account 04233, capital account 04024, Physio-Control vendor history, Stryker vendor history.
T-shirts the Borough already bought
JCM Associates, LLC supplies the Police Department's LEAD graduation T-shirts and certificates. The Borough paid for them from other funds.
| Year | Account | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Trust 31-9999-0225-0240-2-00000 | 1,814.50 |
| 2019 | Trust 31-9999-0225-0240-2-00000 | 1,758.00 |
| 2020 | Trust 31-9999-0225-0240-2-00000 | 1,609.50 |
| 2023 | Police operating line, paid 04/10/2023 | 1,866.50 |
| 2024 | Police operating line, paid 04/08/2024 | 2,184.89 |
| 2025 | Police operating line, paid 04/14/2025 | 1,870.90 |
| Six orders | 11,104.29 |
On 04/20/2026 check 20462 paid JCM 2,246.75 from the opioid account for the same order. The invoice lists 243 T-shirts at 2,004.75, three packs of certificates at 117.00 and shipping at 125.00. The Borough produced no JCM history for 2021 or 2022 (finding).
Sources: JCM vendor history, JCM vendor history, 2024 and 2025, opioid account detail.
What the Borough told the State
Each town with a direct share files an annual report with the Department of Human Services.
The FY2023 report certifies 0.00 received and 0.00 spent. The first receipt posted on 12/07/2023. That report agrees with the books.
FY2024
The FY2024 report certifies 166,885.00 received in the year, 166,885.00 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent, and 166,885.00 unspent or uncommitted on hand. The same money is reported as committed and uncommitted at once. The same report says the Borough had not spent any money and was working on a program with its police department.
The first purchase order in the record against the opioid expenditure account is Stryker PO 20250637, dated 03/28/2025. That is nine months after the FY2024 year closed. The FY2025 report certifies 0.00 encumbered, so no 166,885.00 commitment carried forward (finding).
FY2025
The FY2025 report certifies 27,068.40 spent. That matches check 19537 of 05/19/2025 to the cent, and the certified launch date is the check date.
The report lists one program, Defibrillator Units for Police, OEM and First Aid. It answers Yes to question 16, that the Borough funded a new program in the year. The same program page describes the program as replacing end of life defibrillators with new units. The Borough's capital records show defibrillators bought for Police in 2018 and 2024, and the order itself carries a trade-in credit. The report certifies the replacement of existing equipment as a new program (finding).
The report files the program under primary category Recovery Supports, with Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention and Treatment as other categories. Its own statement of impact is to ensure first responders have the appropriate tools to aid those in medical need. No naloxone, treatment or recovery service appears on the order. No overdose program using the defibrillators is documented, and defibrillators are not among the uses Exhibit E lists (finding).
Sources: FY2023 report, FY2024 report, FY2025 report.
How the reported figures match the account
The FY2025 report certifies 47,988.94 received between 07/01/2024 and 06/30/2025. That figure is four receipts on the revenue account.
| Posted | Amount | Inside FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 04/24/2025 | 3,631.13 | Yes |
| 06/24/2025 | 13,410.52 | Yes |
| 08/19/2025 | 26,744.36 | No |
| 08/21/2025 | 4,202.93 | No |
| Certified received | 47,988.94 |
The last two, 30,947.29 together, arrived after the year closed. The receipts the account shows inside the year total 54,531.68. Two of them, 5,560.32 on 09/18/2024 and 4,816.78 on 10/17/2024, are counted in no report. The FY2024 figure of 166,885.00 is 0.27 below the five receipts from 12/07/2023 through 08/06/2024. The last of those, 27,112.93, falls in FY2025. Receipts inside the FY2024 window total 139,772.34 (finding).
The FY2025 report certifies 139,816.60 unspent on hand.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| FY2024 report, received | 166,885.00 |
| FY2025 report, spent | 27,068.40 |
| Difference | 139,816.60 |
| FY2025 report, unspent on hand | 139,816.60 |
The unspent figure leaves out every FY2025 receipt, including the 47,988.94 the same report counts as received. On the report's own cumulative receipts of 214,873.94 less 27,068.40, the figure would be 187,805.54. The revenue account shows 194,304.02 received through 06/30/2025. Less the 27,068.40 spent, 167,235.62 was on hand (finding).
Sources: opioid account detail, revenue account detail to September 2026, FY2024 report, FY2025 report.
FY2026
The State published the FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It certifies 36,962.20 received, 29,868.59 spent, 7,093.61 encumbered and 189,957.69 unspent on hand.
The report lists one new program, Defibrillators for first responders to aid overdose victims, under primary category Treatment. It names First Aid, Fire and Police as recipients and counts 0 people served. Its only performance measure is replacing old, outdated and unserviceable units. The 29,868.59 is Stryker check 20220 of 01/12/2026, to the cent. A replacement cycle for first responder defibrillators is not treatment, and no listed use covers it (finding).
| FY2026 record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Paid from the opioid account, 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026 | 32,115.34 |
| Certified spent, Stryker check 20220 | 29,868.59 |
| JCM Associates, police LEAD T-shirts, check 20462, in no certified figure | 2,246.75 |
The T-shirt payment is in no figure the report certifies (finding). The 11,241.80 paid to Stryker on 08/17/2026 falls in the FY2027 reporting year.
The certified encumbrance of 7,093.61 is the year's receipts less its spending, to the cent. The program page gives 131.41. Stryker purchase order 20251380 was open on the opioid account at 11,414.84 and was paid 11,241.80 after the year closed (finding).
The report certifies 251,836.14 received since 2022. That adds 36,962.20 to the FY2025 total, and both years count the 30,947.29 received in August 2025. The revenue account shows 231,266.22 received through 06/30/2026 (finding).
Sources: opioid account detail, detail trial balance to 08/28/2026, revenue account detail to September 2026.
What the law allows
The Borough told the State the defibrillators were a new program. They replaced defibrillators it already owned.
N.J.S.A. 26:2G-39(f) requires the money to supplement local spending and not supplant it. The Borough paid for both items from its own funds before it spent any settlement money. It then paid for them from the settlement money.
Exhibit E Schedule B of the national settlement lists the uses the money may fund. They cover treatment, recovery support, connection to care, prevention and harm reduction. No overdose program using the defibrillators is documented, and defibrillators are not among the uses Exhibit E lists.
What should happen
The opioid account has paid 70,425.54 for items the Borough used to buy with its own money. The reserve held 189,957.69 at 08/28/2026. The Borough can restore what it spent from the funds that paid for these items before.
The Department of Human Services and the Office of the State Comptroller should examine the FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026 reports and the records behind them.
The findings are listed under supplantation and fake encumbrances. How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.