Municipality of Princeton
Princeton certified 6,022.50 of defibrillators as overdose harm reduction, counted retreat catering and photographers as drug prevention, left a 2,124.00 account charge out of its FY2026 report and misstated its money on hand two years running.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Princeton bought 6,022.50 of defibrillators and certified them to the State as overdose harm reduction. Read the finding.
- A 2,124.00 journal charge sits on the settlement account with no vendor or purpose printed. The FY2026 report leaves it out. Read the finding.
- Retreat catering and two photographers, 4,552.38, went to the State as drug prevention. Read the finding.
- The FY2026 report says 47,757.30 is on hand. Its own figures leave 63,537.81. Read the finding.
- Of 54,336.70 paid, only 1,747.16 of naloxone kits is backed by an agency record showing opioid content.
Summary
The Municipality of Princeton, Mercer County, reports receiving 115,750.51 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. The money must add to local spending, not replace it.
Princeton keeps the money in two accounts. Revenue account 02-117-02-000-073 takes it in. Spending account 02-213-44-967-301 pays it out. The Municipality produced account detail prints for both, generated 05/27/2026. The spending prints end 03/23/2026 and the revenue prints end 04/30/2026.
This project classifies 1,747.16 of the 54,336.70 paid as conforming, 10,574.88 as non-conforming and 42,014.66 as unverified. Most of the unverified money paid for youth retreats and a youth leadership conference. The ledger text names prevention and leadership. Only the Municipality's own reports describe drug prevention content, and no contract, invoice or course material in the record shows it. Read the Municipality's page.
What Princeton received
The revenue prints show 104,029.60 received from 11/04/2022 to 04/30/2026.
| Period | Received on the prints | Reported to the State |
|---|---|---|
| 07/01/2022 to 06/30/2023 | 21,190.54 | 26,096.32 |
| 07/01/2023 to 06/30/2024 | 42,271.62 | 37,365.84 |
| 07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025 | 24,759.53 | 29,417.14 |
| 07/01/2025 to 04/30/2026 | 15,807.91 | 22,871.21 for the full year |
| Total | 104,029.60 | 115,750.51 |
The FY2023 report counts a 4,905.78 deposit that posted on 08/03/2023 as received by 06/30/2023. The FY2024 report then leaves it out, and its cumulative 63,462.16 matches the books to the cent. Read the finding.
The FY2025 report states 4,657.61 more received than the books show, both for the year and since 2022. No deposit on the prints equals the difference. Read the finding.
No print covers 05/01/2026 to 06/30/2026.
What Princeton spent
The first payment from the spending account was on 08/26/2024. Through 03/23/2026 the account paid 54,336.70.
| Use | Paid |
|---|---|
| Summer youth prevention and leadership retreats, 2024 and 2025 | 19,922.64 |
| Lindsey Meyers Teen Institute summer leadership conference, with buses and a chaperone | 16,324.40 |
| Princeton-Blairstown Center visit, with buses and a chaperone | 6,346.00 |
| Defibtech Lifeline AEDs | 6,022.50 |
| Journal charge for purchase order 46507 | 2,124.00 |
| Youth workshops and prevention speakers | 1,850.00 |
| McKesson harm reduction kits | 1,747.16 |
| Total | 54,336.70 |
The retreats paid presenters, speakers, chaperones, a nurse, a photographer each year, a Rutgers theater performance, 4,295.26 to Princeton University for the 2024 venue and 3,752.38 to Princeton University for the 2025 catering.
A 60.00 order to the Rutgers School of Social Work for a course on current drug trends was open on 03/23/2026.
What Princeton told the State
| Report | Certified spent | Certified encumbered | Certified on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 0.00 | Not asked | Not asked |
| FY2024 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 63,462.16 |
| FY2025 | 21,838.42 | 564.84 | 60,007.28 |
| FY2026 | 30,374.28 | 0.00 | 47,757.30 |
The FY2023 and FY2024 reports certify nothing spent. The account paid nothing before 08/26/2024.
The FY2025 report covers 07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025. It certifies 21,838.42 spent across four programs. The account paid 21,838.42 in that period, 21 payments. Each program figure ties to its payments to the cent.
| FY2025 program | Certified | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Harm Reduction, McKesson kits | 1,747.16 | 1,747.16 |
| Leadership Retreat | 9,545.26 | 9,545.26 |
| Princeton Blairstown Retreat | 6,346.00 | 6,346.00 |
| Summer Leadership Conference | 4,200.00 | 4,200.00 |
| Total | 21,838.42 | 21,838.42 |
The 564.84 certified as encumbered is the unpaid balance of the 2,312.00 McKesson order. The account cancelled it on 12/31/2025.
The FY2025 report states 60,007.28 on hand. The books leave 65,818.43 at 06/30/2025, and the spending account carries that same balance on 07/28/2025. The report's own figures leave 70,476.04. Read the finding.
FY2026
The State published the FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 30,374.28 spent and updates the four programs from FY2025.
| FY2026 program | Certified | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Harm Reduction | 7,872.50 | 7,872.50 |
| Leadership Retreat | 10,377.38 | 10,377.38 |
| Princeton Blairstown Retreat | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Summer Leadership Conference | 12,124.40 | 12,124.40 |
| Total | 30,374.28 | 30,374.28 |
The account was charged 32,498.28 from 07/01/2025 to 03/23/2026. The difference from the certified figure is one line. On 08/12/2025, journal 371 charged the account 2,124.00 with the description "CHARGE ACCOUNT FOR P.O. 46507." The print names no vendor and no purpose. Purchase order 46507 appears on no produced print. Neither the FY2025 report nor the FY2026 report counts the charge. Read the finding.
The report states 47,757.30 on hand. It certifies 115,750.51 received since 2022, and the four reports certify 52,212.70 spent with nothing encumbered. That leaves 63,537.81, which is 15,780.51 more than the report states. Read the finding.
What the records show
The Harm Reduction program began in FY2025 as free kits of naloxone, fentanyl test strips and sharps containers. In FY2026 it certifies 7,872.50 spent. Of that, 6,022.50 is Defibtech Lifeline AEDs from Lifesavers, Inc., purchase order 47301, paid by check 57813 on 01/26/2026. The report says the defibrillators "were distributed to community orgs where personnel were educated on how to administer Defibs." No naloxone or other overdose supply was bought in the year. Defibrillators treat cardiac arrest. No overdose program using this equipment is documented, and defibrillators are not among the uses Exhibit E lists. Read the finding.
The Leadership Retreat figures include 400.00 for a photographer in 2024, 400.00 for a photographer in 2025 and 3,752.38 of catering in 2025. Photography and catering are not among the uses Exhibit E lists. Read the finding.
The rest of the Harm Reduction figure, 1,850.00, paid a youth workshop, a prevention guest speaker and Minding Your Mind. The ledger names the talks but not their content. This project classifies them as unverified.
The Princeton-Blairstown Center visit cost 6,346.00 in April and May 2025. The FY2025 report files it under Workforce Development and Capacity Building and describes social and emotional learning for nine students. No record shows drug prevention content. This project classifies it as unverified.
The McKesson order and invoices are printed as harm reduction kits, and the FY2025 report describes naloxone kits with fentanyl test strips. Naloxone distribution and fentanyl checking are among the uses Exhibit E lists.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.