Borough of Roselle

Summary

The Borough of Roselle, Union County, reports receiving 156,967.55 in opioid settlement money from 2022 through 06/30/2026. 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 listed uses cover treatment, recovery, connection to care, prevention and harm reduction.

The Borough produced three settlement accounts. Account G-02-41-723-022-015, Opioid Settlement Fund 2022, holds every payment line, three of them, 6,327.56 in all. Account G-02-41-723-023-005, Opioid Settlement 2023, at 20,596.91, and account G-02-41-724-024-005, CY 2024 Opioid Settlement, at 65,380.30, show no activity through 06/09/2026. Both purchases bought bags shipped to the Borough's Human Resources office. Read the Borough's findings.

The duffle bags

Purchase order 26-00573 to RushOrder Tees is dated 04/02/2026 and ships to Human Resources. It has two lines. "Duffle Bags (200)", described as "Wellness Event", is 2,322.00. Shipping is 766.26. The RushOrder Tees invoice bills 200 black 17 inch duffel bags printed four colors on the front, at 11.61 each, for delivery on 04/08/2026.

The FY2026 report lists a program named Employee Wellness 2026 at 3,088.26 spent. It names the Borough as the recipient and municipal employees as the target, and counts 125 people served. It describes the purpose as "Provide opioid education and recovery resources, treatment information and recovery programs." It files the program under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training and the Schedule B strategy Training. It gives 04/09/2026 as the date the program was funded and launched, a week after the bags were ordered.

The certified figure equals the order to the cent. None of the 3,088.26 bought education material, treatment information, recovery resources or training. No education program using the bags is documented. Certified 200 duffle bags as opioid education.

The lunch bag sets

Purchase order 25-00296 to Positive Promotions, Inc. is dated 02/18/2025 and ships to Human Resources. It has one line, "LNCH BG/CNTR/WTR BTTL", at 3,239.30. The vendor's invoice is dated 02/13/2025, five days before the order.

The FY2025 report lists one program, Employee Wellness, at 3,239.30 expended, with Positive Promotions, Inc as the recipient. It says the program "provides self-care techniques, stress prevention and opioid prevention education to frontline workers" and that "Wellness kits and education materials were provided to attendees." It names first responders, law enforcement and other emergency responders as the target and files the program under the Schedule B strategy First Responders. It reports one training or education session and anticipates 0 clients.

The certified figure equals the invoice to the cent. The invoice bills goods and shipping, and no education material, training or service. Exhibit E's First Responders category adds two uses to the first-responder items in sections C, D and H: education of responders about fentanyl and other drugs, and wellness services for responders facing secondary trauma. No education program using the sets is documented. Certified 250 lunch bag sets as opioid education.

The Borough's check register for Positive Promotions lists 16 paid checks totaling 30,930.08 from 01/17/2018 to 11/12/2025. They are charged to Municipal Alliance and SAMHSA grant reserves, community policing and fire donation reserves, and current fund lines such as Books And Publications, Ed. And Training and Material And Supplies. Check 207 is the only one charged to the settlement account.

What the Borough told the State

The FY2023 and FY2024 reports certify no spending, and the books agree. The FY2023 report says the focus would be education and workforce development or training. The FY2024 report says the Borough was developing an education plan for school children and young adults with its Municipal Alliance. Its on hand figure, 89,526.99, is 3,549.78 more than the 85,977.21 it reports receiving. The record does not show why.

The FY2025 report certifies 3,239.30 spent, and one payment, check 207, makes that figure to the cent. The spending is the lunch bag sets.

Money on hand in FY2025

The FY2025 report certifies 164,462.95 of unspent money on hand. The same page certifies 126,839.73 received since 2022, interest included. The on hand figure is built this way.

The year's receipts are counted twice. The certified figure is 37,623.22 more than everything the Borough says it had received. Even the 156,967.55 the FY2026 report gives as received through 06/30/2026 is 7,495.40 short of it. Reported more money on hand than it said it had received.

FY2026

The State published the Borough's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 28,530.53 spent and 0.00 encumbered in two programs.

• Employee Wellness 2026, 3,088.26. This is the duffle bag order.
• Roselle Opioid Task Force-House Music Festival, 25,442.27, under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. The report describes a response team stationed at the Borough's annual House Music Festival, with a medical go-bag, Narcan kits in five vehicles and an opioid resource table. It counts 20,000 people served and 37 encounters. It says the Task Force is part of the Borough and that its supplies were bought through the Borough's encumbrance system.

The produced accounts show 3,088.26 paid in the year, the duffle bags. They do not show the festival spending. Two of the three accounts are printed only through 06/09/2026. The third shows expended to date of 8,527.56 on 09/09/2026, 2,200.00 more than its printed lines, with no transaction line for the difference. The record does not yet show what paid for the festival program.

Where the money went

The three produced accounts carry 95,561.11 of appropriations. No revenue or trust account holding the receipts has been produced. Both purchases on the ledger were bags for employees.

What should happen

The Borough can restore the 6,327.56 to the fund and spend it on a listed use or a documented abatement program. It can produce the records behind the 2,200.00 rise in expended to date and the 25,442.27 festival 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 and the records behind them.

How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.