Ringwood Borough
Ringwood Borough certified its police DARE program to the State as new, reported an encumbrance and balances its books do not support, and left 4,986.24 of spending out of its FY2025 and FY2026 reports.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Ringwood told the State its DARE program was new in 2025. The same page says the Police Department has run it for over 15 years.
- The FY2024 report claims 15,167.65 encumbered. No order was open. It also claims 2,908.68 more on hand than the Borough had ever received.
- The FY2026 report certifies 1,434.31 spent. The books show 3,720.55. The 3,162.98 of DARE purchases appear in no program.
- Two FY2026 programs are exact multiples of the books. Health education is twice what was paid. A vaping talk is three times its 44.17 of refreshments.
- The FY2026 report claims 60,346.26 on hand. Its own receipts less what the books paid leaves 54,860.32.
- The police DARE account ran dry in March 2026. One invoice was split. 121.98 came from the police account. 2,093.28 came from the settlement fund.
- The fund paid for yoga, pilates, Zumba, hikes, T-shirts, a tablecloth and refreshments. None is among the uses Exhibit E lists.
Of the 12,856.02 the fund has paid out, 6,754.79 bought DARE items and T-shirts. Not one payment is backed by a record of opioid content.
Summary
Ringwood Borough, Passaic County, reports receiving 67,716.34 in opioid settlement money from 2022 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. In either case the money must supplement local spending, not replace it.
The Borough appropriated 16,811.31 to account 4-01-40-340-201 and 32,667.38 to account 5-01-40-340-201, both named Opioid Settlement Fund. Through 08/28/2026 the two accounts paid 12,856.02 and held 36,622.67 unexpended. Nothing was open on either account. The reports' receipts run 4,756.79 above the two appropriations. No 2026 appropriation for the fund was produced.
| Classification | Amount |
|---|---|
| Conforming | 0.00 |
| Non-conforming | 10,520.10 |
| Unverified | 2,335.92 |
| Paid through 08/28/2026 | 12,856.02 |
No payment is conforming. A use counts as conforming only when an agency record shows opioid content, and none was produced. The non-conforming payments are DARE items and T-shirts the Borough's own accounts bought before, yoga, pilates, Zumba and hiking classes, two health education invoices its salaries and wages lines had paid since 2018, a tablecloth, refreshments and a handwriting analysis session. The unverified payments are a panel honorarium, a supply reimbursement, the Girls on the Run instructor, a workshop, a room rental and an undescribed speaker payment. Read the Borough's findings.
What the Borough told the State
The State's reporting year runs from 07/01 to 06/30.
| Year | Received in the year | Certified spent | Paid from the accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 13,027.17 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2024 | 25,987.06 | 1,643.66 | 1,643.66 |
| FY2025 | 15,221.25 | 4,791.81 | 7,491.81 |
| FY2026 | 13,480.86 | 1,434.31 | 3,720.55 |
| Total | 67,716.34 | 7,869.78 | 12,856.02 |
The FY2023 and FY2024 spent figures match the books. The FY2024 report names two programs, and both tie to the cent. Movement as Medicine, 900.00, is five yoga and pilates instructor payments. Two months earlier the Health Department's operational supplies line paid the same yoga and pilates instructors 75.00 each for the same kind of class. Certified 900.00 of yoga and pilates classes as prevention. Under the Influence, 743.66, is a panel honorarium, a supply reimbursement and a 332.74 Health Department table throw. Certified a 332.74 Health Dept. tablecloth as prevention.
The rest of the FY2024 report does not hold. It lists 15,167.65 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent. That is the account's running balance after the last payment on 06/19/2024. Every order to that date was paid. The next order was encumbered on 10/15/2024. Reported 15,167.65 encumbered with no open order behind it.
The same report lists 42,029.83 received since 2022 and 44,938.51 unspent on hand. The unspent figure is 2,908.68 more than everything the report says was received. The received figure is off as well. The FY2023 total plus the FY2024 receipts is 39,014.23, which is 3,015.60 less. Reported 2,908.68 more on hand than it had ever received.
DARE
The FY2025 report answers Yes when asked whether the Borough funded any new programs. It lists DARE, for 4th grade students, with a launch date of 01/23/2025 and 3,591.81 expended. The same block says "The Police Department has participated in this program for over 15 years."
The 3,591.81 is two payments on 03/19/2025. MBM Specialty Advertising was paid 1,162.00 for T-shirts. Creative Product Sourcing was paid 2,429.81 for DARE items.
The Borough's vendor histories show the same purchases on its own accounts.
| Year | Vendor | Purchase | Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Creative Product Sourcing | DARE items | Police DARE project |
| 2020 | MBM Specialty Advertising | DARE T-shirts | AWARE Programs |
| 2021 | MBM Specialty Advertising | DARE T-shirts | AWARE Programs |
| 2022 | Creative Product Sourcing | DARE items and supplies | Police DARE project, AWARE Programs |
| 2022 | MBM Specialty Advertising | DARE T-shirts | AWARE Programs |
| 2023 | Creative Product Sourcing | DARE items | Police DARE project |
| 2024 | Creative Product Sourcing | DARE items | Police DARE project |
| 2025 | Both vendors | T-shirts and DARE items | Opioid Settlement Fund |
| 2026 | Both vendors | DARE T-shirts and DARE items | Opioid Settlement Fund |
The police DARE project, 14-54-7100, carried 3,723.05 on 01/01/2019. By 2026 it held 121.98. On 03/13/2026 the Borough paid Creative Product Sourcing invoice 167327 on one purchase order in two lines. Line 1, 121.98, came from the police project and took it to 0.00. Line 2, 2,093.28, came from the settlement fund. Split one DARE invoice between police and settlement funds.
Exhibit E lists evidence-based school prevention programs among its uses. This finding does not rest on the curriculum. It rests on who paid. The settlement money must add to what a town already spends. The Borough's own accounts paid for these purchases every year from 2019 through 2024.
The T-shirts fail on their own. Apparel is not among the uses Exhibit E lists, and no listed use covers it. Certified 1,162.00 of T-shirts as the DARE program.
What the FY2025 report left out
The FY2025 report certifies 4,791.81 expended. That is its two programs, Girls on the Run at 1,200.00 and DARE at 3,591.81. The account paid 7,491.81 in the year.
| Payment on 11/26/2024 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Yoga | 600.00 |
| Yoga | 375.00 |
| Zumba | 450.00 |
| Hikes | 600.00 |
| Workshop | 275.00 |
| Handwriting analysis | 250.00 |
| Room usage, Ringwood Volunteer Ambulance | 150.00 |
| Total | 2,700.00 |
Five of the seven purchase orders say Movement as Medicine. No FY2025 program names any of them. The report's unspent figure does count them. Received since 2022, 54,235.48, less unspent on hand, 44,825.01, is 9,410.47. That is FY2024 spending, the full 7,491.81 and the 275.00 the report lists as encumbered. Left 2,700.00 of class payments out of FY2025 spending.
The Senior Citizens line paid the Zumba instructor for Zumba classes month after month from 2018 through 2026, including October and November 2024. The 450.00 Movement as Medicine charge went out on the same check as the October 2024 class.
The Girls on the Run block explains its funding this way. "In 2024, the school suffered budget issues that threatened the funding of this program. The funding provided by the opioid settlement is being used to fund the lead instructor position so that the program could be held."
FY2026
The State published the Borough's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It certifies 1,434.31 spent between 07/01/2025 and 06/30/2026. That is three programs, Community Health Education at 1,026.80, Lets Clear the Air at 132.51 and Movement As Medicine at 275.00. The report says the year's funding went to "community education programs and support of our local DARE program."
| Paid | Purchase | Account | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/26/2025 | Atlantic Health System, community health education | 4-01 | 55.00 |
| 12/10/2025 | The 2024 panel speaker, no description | 4-01 | 300.00 |
| 12/10/2025 | Refreshments, Lets Clear the Air | 4-01 | 44.17 |
| 12/23/2025 | Atlantic Health System, community health education, November 2025 | 4-01 | 158.40 |
| 03/13/2026 | MBM Specialty Advertising, DARE T-shirts | 5-01 | 1,069.70 |
| 03/13/2026 | Creative Product Sourcing, DARE items | 5-01 | 2,093.28 |
| Total | 3,720.55 |
No program in the report names the 3,162.98 of DARE purchases. The certified figure is 2,286.24 below the books. Reported 1,434.31 spent. The books show 3,720.55.
Movement As Medicine is listed as a new program with 275.00 spent, 120 people served and 4 sessions. The same 275.00 is printed again as an update to the 2024 program. Neither account paid any Movement as Medicine charge in FY2026. The only 275.00 Movement as Medicine payment either account has made is the 11/26/2024 workshop, the one the FY2025 report left out. A second 275.00 order to the same instructor was voided on 12/30/2025 without payment. The instructors' fall 2025 classes were paid from the Health Department's operational supplies line, not the fund. Certified 275.00 of classes with no payment that year.
The program figures do not come from the books. Community Health Education is certified at 1,026.80. The payments that fit it are 55.00 and 158.40 to Atlantic Health System and 300.00 to the 2024 panel speaker, 513.40 in all. 1,026.80 is exactly twice that. Certified 1,026.80 of health education. Books show 513.40. Lets Clear the Air, two sessions on tobacco, marijuana and vapes, is certified at 132.51. Its only payment is 44.17 of refreshments. 132.51 is exactly three times that. Certified 132.51 for a vaping talk. Books show 44.17.
The Borough's salaries and wages lines paid Atlantic Health System's community health education invoices from 2018 through the September 2025 invoice, paid on 10/31/2025. The next two invoices went to the settlement account. Moved health educator bills from salaries to the fund.
The report lists 67,716.34 received since 2022, nothing encumbered and 60,346.26 unspent on hand. The accounts paid 12,856.02 through 06/30/2026 and nothing after through 08/28/2026. Received less paid is 54,860.32. Reported 60,346.26 on hand. The books leave 54,860.32.
What should happen
The settlement fund paid 6,754.79 for DARE items and T-shirts the Borough's own accounts had bought for years, and 213.40 for health education invoices its own salaries and wages lines had carried since 2018. The Borough can restore that money to the fund and spend it on a listed use or a documented abatement program.
The State relies on these reports to verify compliance. The Department of Human Services and the Office of the State Comptroller should examine the FY2025 and FY2026 reports, who prepared them, and what records support them.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.