Ramsey Borough
Ramsey Borough bought a police drug detection dog with opioid settlement money and filed it with the State as harm reduction, left a 5,429.10 payment to its police vehicle upfitter out of its FY2024 report, and certified more money on hand than it had left in FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Ramsey Borough has paid 36,855.29 from its opioid settlement accounts, from 06/28/2023 to 08/26/2026. No produced record documents any of it as a use Exhibit E lists.
- The first 13,861.85 went to a police narcotics detection dog program. The Borough filed the dog with the State under Harm Reduction.
- The FY2024 report says the 8,500.00 it certified "was all for this program." The same accounts also paid the police vehicle upfitter 5,429.10 that year. No report mentions it.
- Each of the last three reports claims more money on hand than the Borough had left. FY2024 by 10,245.05. FY2025 by 4,293.98. FY2026 by 9,060.20.
- The FY2023 report left an 848.39 receipt out of the money received.
- The FY2026 report certifies 0.00 encumbered. A 1,284.00 order sat open on the settlement account on 06/30/2026.
Summary
Ramsey Borough, Bergen County, reports receiving 84,760.68 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2026, interest included. 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 money arrives in a revenue account for each year and is moved to a grant account for that year. The Borough's revenue trails print 83,088.94 of settlement receipts from 07/29/2022 to 04/30/2026. Five grant accounts hold the spending: G-02-23-728-000, G-02-24-728-000, G-02-24-728-001, G-02-25-728-000 and G-02-26-728-000.
From 06/28/2023 to 08/26/2026 those accounts paid 36,855.29 net. At 08/31/2026 they held 59,942.18. Read the Borough's findings.
Where the money went
| Payee | Purchase | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Ray Allen Manufacturing | Narcotics Detection Dog program, quote RQ017171, check 90319, 06/28/2023 | 5,361.85 |
| Connecticut Canine Services | The narcotics detection dog, invoice INV-724, check 90633, 09/13/2023 | 8,500.00 |
| Journal reference 4059 | Credit moved to Police Miscellaneous Expenses, 09/13/2023 | -545.90 |
| Ages Auto LLC | Invoice 37030, check 91663, 04/24/2024 | 5,429.10 |
| Herren Talks Inc | Municipal Alliance speaker series, check 92468, 10/09/2024 | 5,000.00 |
| Bound Tree Medical LLC | Quote QUO-69532-Y4K6M4, check 93367, 04/09/2025 | 11,400.60 |
| Amazon.com Services | Invoice 13MF-CKY3-1KG7, check 94289, 10/22/2025 | 425.64 |
| L.E.A.D. | Invoice 38048, check 95718, 08/26/2026 | 1,284.00 |
| Total | 36,855.29 |
This project classes the dog program and the Ages Auto payment as non-conforming, 18,745.05 net of the journal credit. No overdose program using any of it is documented. The Herren Talks, Bound Tree, Amazon and L.E.A.D. payments, 18,110.24, are unverified. No contract, invoice text or program record was produced for any of them. A report's own description of a program does not document it.
What the Borough told the State
The State's reporting year runs 07/01 to 06/30.
FY2023. The Borough reported 16,076.60 received and 5,361.85 expended as of 06/30/2023. It listed one program, Narcotics Detection Dog, with funding of "$19,440 initially and annual $4,140." The account paid one check in the year, Ray Allen Manufacturing for 5,361.85 on 06/28/2023. The expended figure agrees with the books. The received figure does not.
FY2024. The Borough certified 33,762.55 received, 874.00 of interest, 50,713.15 received since 2022, 8,500.00 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 42,213.15 unspent on hand. It updated the dog program at 8,500.00. The received figure equals the receipts in the year to the cent. The accounts paid 13,383.20 net in the year.
FY2025. The Borough certified 19,775.56 received, 563.60 of interest, 71,052.31 received since 2022, 16,400.60 spent, 0.00 encumbered and 40,200.64 unspent on hand. It listed two new programs. Acquisition of Life Saving Medical Equipment for First Responders, recipient the Ramsey Police Department, at 11,400.60. The Ramsey Alliance Speaker Series at 5,000.00. Both tie to the books to the cent, and each funding date is the check date. The received figure equals the eight receipts in the year to the cent.
FY2026. The State published the report on 10/01/2026. The Borough certified 13,404.09 received, 304.28 of interest, 84,760.68 received since 2022, 425.64 spent, 0.00 encumbered, 0.00 for administration and 58,249.59 unspent on hand. It updated the life saving equipment program at 425.64 and reported 12 disposal packets distributed. The 425.64 is one Amazon order, paid 10/22/2025. No produced record names the items.
Across the four years the Borough certified 30,688.09 spent. Its accounts paid 35,571.29 net through 06/30/2026. The 4,883.20 difference is FY2024.
A police drug dog filed as harm reduction
The FY2023 report describes the program in the Borough's own words. The problem is the "challenge in detecting and interdicting drugs specifically fentanyl laced drugs." The Police Department is "purchasing, training and fielding a narcotics detection dog." The aim is to keep first-time users from access to drugs and to prevent "drug dealers from operating in and through the Borough." The report files the program under Harm Reduction.
The FY2023 report certifies 5,361.85 and the FY2024 report certifies 8,500.00. The two figures equal the Ray Allen and Connecticut Canine payments to the cent. Neither vendor received any other payment from the Borough, from any fund, between 01/01/2018 and 08/30/2026.
Exhibit E's harm reduction category covers naloxone, overdose response education, syringe services, testing and mobile harm reduction units. No listed use covers a police drug detection dog, and no overdose program using the dog is documented. Certified a police drug dog as harm reduction.
The FY2023 report also promised the program an annual 4,140.00. No settlement payment after 09/13/2023 goes to the dog. The Borough's Police Miscellaneous Expenses line pays pet supply and veterinary charges from 11/2023 through 2026.
The payment the FY2024 report left out
The FY2024 report certifies 8,500.00 and explains it this way. "The $8,500 spent in the reporting period was all for this program."
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified spent, FY2024 | 8,500.00 |
| Connecticut Canine Services, check 90633, 09/13/2023 | 8,500.00 |
| Journal reference 4059 credit, 09/13/2023 | -545.90 |
| Ages Auto LLC, check 91663, 04/24/2024 | 5,429.10 |
| Paid in the year | 13,383.20 |
| Difference | 4,883.20 |
The Ages Auto payment appears in no report the Borough has filed. The FY2025 report certifies 16,400.60, which the Herren Talks and Bound Tree payments make to the cent. Left a 5,429.10 police upfitter payment out of FY2024.
The police vehicle upfitter
Ages Auto upfits the Borough's police vehicles. Its vendor history from 01/01/2018 to 08/30/2026 shows 94,054.03 paid. Of that, 88,624.93 came from Purchase of Vehicles (Police), Police Miscellaneous Expenses, Vehicle Maintenance, the Reserve for Vehicle Conversion and capital ordinances for police vehicles. It includes 25,866.30 to upfit two Ford Explorers in 2019 and 15,440.00 for Durango lights paid in 2023.
| Invoice | Date | Amount | Account | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37031 | 02/29/2024 | 1,247.25 | Purchase of Vehicles (Police) | Check 91596, 04/10/2024 |
| 37030 | 02/29/2024 | 5,429.10 | Opioid Settlement Grant | Check 91663, 04/24/2024 |
Two consecutive invoices, the same vendor, the same date. One went to the police vehicle line. The other went to the settlement fund. No produced record names the work, and no overdose program using it is documented. The vendor history shows no earlier charge of the same amount on another line, so this project publishes these facts and no supplantation finding.
The journal of 09/13/2023
Journal reference 4059 took 545.90 off settlement account G-02-23-728-000 and charged it to Police Miscellaneous Expenses. Its description reads "post error." No voucher, source invoice or approver for it was produced.
Before the journal the account held 7,954.10. The dog's invoice was 8,500.00, 545.90 more. The journal brought the balance to 8,500.00. The dog's check cleared the same day and left the account at 0.00.
Money on hand
Each report since FY2024 states the unspent money the Borough has on hand. None of the three agrees with the Borough's own receipts and payments.
| Report | Certified received since 2022 | Paid by the accounts to 06/30 | Left | Certified on hand | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 50,713.15 | 18,745.05 | 31,968.10 | 42,213.15 | 10,245.05 |
| FY2025 | 71,052.31 | 35,145.65 | 35,906.66 | 40,200.64 | 4,293.98 |
| FY2026 | 84,760.68 | 35,571.29 | 49,189.39 | 58,249.59 | 9,060.20 |
The FY2024 figure is 50,713.15 less the 8,500.00 of that year alone. It counts the 5,361.85 the FY2023 report certified as spent as still on hand. Counted 10,245.05 of spent money as on hand in FY2024.
The FY2025 figure does not follow from the Borough's own reports either. The three reports certify 30,262.45 spent. 71,052.31 less that is 40,789.86, 589.22 more than the figure certified. Counted 4,293.98 of spent money as on hand in FY2025.
The FY2026 figure is 4,177.00 above the report's own received total less the 30,688.09 the four reports certify as spent. The report was last updated 9/15/2026. The receipts trails produced end 05/28/2026. Reported 9,060.20 more on hand in FY2026 than it had left.
The receipt left out of FY2023
The FY2023 report certifies 16,076.60 received as of 06/30/2023. The Miscellaneous Grants revenue trails print 13,315.95 of settlement receipts in 2022, then 848.39 on 01/31/2023 and 2,760.65 on 06/16/2023. 16,924.99 had arrived. The certified figure is the 2022 receipts plus the 06/16/2023 receipt. The 848.39 is missing, and the FY2024 total received since 2022 is built on the same figure. Left an 848.39 receipt out of its FY2023 total received.
Medical equipment for patrol cars
The FY2025 report certifies 11,400.60 for life saving medical equipment for the Police Department's patrol vehicles, under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. Bound Tree Medical purchase order 25-00656 is the figure to the cent. It was paid from two settlement accounts on 04/09/2025. No produced record names the items.
The Borough had already bought from Bound Tree six times, on orders from 04/11/2024 to 03/10/2025, for 2,030.08 on police budget lines. The first was a "BackPack Lucas 2 Pack" on Police Miscellaneous Expenses. The other five went to Police Other Equipment. The settlement order followed eight days after the last of them. Naloxone would be a listed use. Other medical equipment would not. This project classes the 11,400.60 as unverified until the items are known.
FY2026
The FY2026 report certifies 425.64 spent, which ties one Amazon order. It certifies 0.00 encumbered. L.E.A.D. purchase order 26-01431, for invoice 38048 dated 06/17/2026, was first encumbered on settlement account G-02-25-728-000 on 06/22/2026 for 1,284.00. It was open on 06/30/2026. Check 95718 paid it on 08/26/2026. The report was last updated 9/15/2026. Certified 0.00 encumbered over an open 1,284.00 order.
What should happen
The Borough can return the 18,745.05 its settlement accounts paid for the dog program and the Ages Auto invoice to the settlement fund. It can show what the Herren Talks, Bound Tree, Amazon and L.E.A.D. payments bought.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.