River Edge Borough
River Edge Borough has spent 5,000.00 of its opioid settlement money, on one school prevention talk, and its reports to the State undercount what it received and what it holds.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- River Edge Borough has taken in 62,861.85 of opioid settlement money through 08/03/2026. It has spent 5,000.00.
- The 5,000.00 paid a speaker in recovery for one talk to River Dell High School students on 10/26/2023. The FY2024 report certifies it to the cent.
- Nothing else has left the settlement account. On 08/31/2026 it showed 49,065.98 unexpended and nothing encumbered.
- The FY2024 report leaves out two settlement payments the Borough deposited in 2023, 3,249.60 in all. Every later report carries the shortfall.
- The FY2025 report puts 13,521.41 on hand. Its own figures give 38,324.66. The books give 41,574.26. The FY2026 report's figures give 38,324.66 again.
- The FY2026 report says the Police Department planned to bring the speaker back. The retirement of the Captain stopped it.
The spending figures are right every year. The receipts and balance figures are not.
Summary
River Edge Borough, Bergen County, receives its opioid settlement money in revenue account G-02-55-214-000, Unappropriated Grants. The same account takes in recycling, body armor, DWI education and other grant money. The settlement receipts on it total 55,434.02 through 06/30/2026 and 62,861.85 through 08/03/2026.
The money is appropriated in account G-02-41-142-023, National Opioid Settlement Fund, at 54,065.98. That figure equals every settlement receipt from 09/06/2022 to 11/18/2025. The account has paid one check. The settlement money must go to the abatement uses the national settlements list, or to documented evidence-based programs that address the epidemic, and it must add to local spending, not replace it.
This project classes the 5,000.00 as conforming. Read the Borough's findings.
Where the money went
| Paid | Check | Payee | Ledger description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/13/2023 | 62854 | Speaker | 10/26/23 Speaking Engagement | 5,000.00 |
| Total | 5,000.00 |
Purchase order 23-01851 was encumbered on 10/18/2023. The FY2023 report describes the program as a speaker's account of his own addiction and recovery, for students in grades 9 to 12, funded at 6,000.00. The FY2024 report gives one session and says the funds "were used for a speaker to address high schoolers." Prevention education for youth is among the uses Exhibit E lists.
The Borough's vendor history for the speaker covers every fund from 01/01/2018 to 08/31/2026. It shows this one payment, charged to the settlement account, and nothing else. The payment did not replace a cost the Borough already carried. Speaker payment ties to the FY2024 report to the cent.
What the Borough told the State
| Report | Received in year | Received since 2022 | Spent | Encumbered | On hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 11,186.97 | 11,186.97 | 0.00 | not asked | not asked |
| FY2024 | 19,066.57 | 30,253.54 | 5,000.00 | 0.00 | 28,503.14 |
| FY2025 | 13,071.12 | 43,324.66 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13,521.41 |
| FY2026 | 8,859.76 | 52,184.42 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 47,184.42 |
The books for the same State fiscal years, 07/01 to 06/30, read as follows.
| Year | Received in year | Received since 2022 | Paid | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 11,186.97 | 11,186.97 | 0.00 | 11,186.97 |
| FY2024 | 22,316.17 | 33,503.14 | 5,000.00 | 28,503.14 |
| FY2025 | 13,071.12 | 46,574.26 | 0.00 | 41,574.26 |
| FY2026 | 8,859.76 | 55,434.02 | 0.00 | 50,434.02 |
Every spent and encumbered figure matches the books. Three of the four received-in-year figures match. The FY2024 figure, the cumulative figures after it and two of the three on-hand figures do not.
One FY2023 receipt, 3,334.23 on 01/06/2023, prints only as UNAPP GRANT. This project counts it as settlement money because the FY2023 report's 11,186.97 received requires it, and so does the 54,065.98 appropriation.
Two payments left out
The FY2024 report certifies 19,066.57 received. That is the seven settlement receipts of 05/17/2024 and the Janssen receipt of 06/25/2024. The revenue trail prints two more in the same year, 2,589.88 on 08/09/2023 and 659.72 on 11/28/2023. Both are described as National Opioids Settlement payments.
The same report's on-hand figure, 28,503.14, counts them. It is the true balance. Only the received figures leave them out. FY2024 report left out two settlement payments.
FY2025
The FY2025 report certifies 43,324.66 received since 2022, nothing spent and nothing encumbered in the year, and 13,521.41 on hand. With the 5,000.00 spent in FY2024, the report's own figures leave 38,324.66. The books show 41,574.26 on 06/30/2025. No produced record holds the figure 13,521.41. The FY2026 report contradicts it as well. It certifies 8,859.76 received and nothing spent in the next year and 47,184.42 on hand, which puts the 06/30/2025 balance at 38,324.66. Reported 24,803.25 less on hand than its own figures show.
The report's narrative says the Police Department hoped to start a program through another town's police department and would "work on a plan for other further expenditures."
FY2026
The State published the Borough's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 8,859.76 received, which equals the seven settlement receipts of the year. It certifies 0.00 spent and 0.00 encumbered, which the books confirm.
It certifies 52,184.42 received since 2022 and 47,184.42 on hand. The books show 55,434.02 and 50,434.02. Both figures are short by the 3,249.60 the FY2024 report left out. FY2026 report leaves 3,249.60 out of money received.
The report names the Police Chief and a lieutenant as the officials deciding how to spend the money. It says the Police Department had planned to bring the speaker back for students who missed the first talk, and that staffing issues with the retirement of the Captain prevented it. It reports no strategic plan and no public engagement.
Four more settlement receipts, 7,427.83, arrived on 07/28/2026 and 08/03/2026. The settlement account showed no activity from 06/01/2026 to 08/31/2026.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.