Scotch Plains Township
Scotch Plains Township has received 122,238.42 in opioid settlement money, has spent 2,542.92 of it, left a 1,254.23 administrative charge out of its FY2026 report and certified 21,209.07 less on hand than its own figures leave.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Scotch Plains has received 122,238.42 in settlement money since 2022. It spent nothing until 10/28/2025.
- Then 2,542.92 left the opioid account. Almost half of it, 1,254.23, was a journal the Township labeled "5% Opiod charge off - admin fees."
- The journal moved the money to a Financial Administration appropriation. It is 5 percent of the Township's first payment, to the cent.
- The FY2026 report tells the State the Township spent 0.00 on administration. Asked for details, it wrote "N/A."
- The same report certifies 99,740.66 on hand. Its own figures leave 120,949.73. It does not say where the other 21,209.07 went.
- The rest bought workbooks, storage boxes, 15.80 of a supply order and 69.00 of a shirt order. The report certifies the boxes and the shirts, 366.21, as opioid prevention for kids.
Summary
Scotch Plains Township, Union County, reported receiving 122,238.42 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2026, interest included. 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 supplement local spending, not replace it.
The Township's 2023 Opioid Grant account, 01-213-23-240-010, shows 2,542.92 leaving it from 10/28/2025 through 05/19/2026. That is about 2 percent of what the Township has received. Four vendor payments make 1,288.69. A budget journal makes the other 1,254.23.
The FY2026 report to the Department of Human Services counts the vendor payments to the cent. It does not count the journal anywhere. Left a 1,254.23 admin charge out of the FY2026 report. Its unspent figure is 21,209.07 short of its own arithmetic. Certified 21,209.07 less on hand than its own figures leave. Its one program, Think Purple, carries storage boxes and shirts. Certified shirts and storage boxes as opioid prevention.
What the Township received
| Fiscal year | Received | Interest | Received since 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 25,084.69 | 25,084.69 | |
| FY2024 | 63,776.07 | 0.00 | 88,860.76 |
| FY2025 | 16,320.24 | 675.71 | 105,856.71 |
| FY2026 | 16,131.71 | 250.00 | 122,238.42 |
The figures are the Township's own, from its four reports. The State's fiscal year runs 07/01 to 06/30.
The Township produced two settlement accounts. Account 01-213-23-240-010, the 2023 Opioid Grant, holds the 25,084.69 FY2023 payment. Account 01-213-24-240-010, titled 2024 National Opiods Settlement, shows three reserve set up journals totaling 77,198.89 between 06/11/2024 and 08/20/2024 and no payment. Its print stops at 08/20/2024. No produced record shows where the FY2025 and FY2026 payments are held.
What it spent
| Date | Payee | Purchase | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/28/2025 | L.E.A.D. Inc | 5th grade workbooks, check 14606 | 906.68 |
| 11/05/2025 | Journal GJ 256 | 5% Opiod charge off, admin fees | 1,254.23 |
| 02/18/2026 | 4imprint Inc | 2026 MAC Think Purple Week supply order, check 15498 | 15.80 |
| 02/18/2026 | Staples Inc. | Storage boxes and bags for Think Purple, check 15575 | 297.21 |
| 05/19/2026 | JCM Associates LLC | 2026 Lead Shirts, check 16331 | 69.00 |
| Left the account | 2,542.92 |
The account opened 2026 at 22,923.78 and stood at 22,541.77 on 05/19/2026, the last date its print covers.
This project classifies none of the 2,542.92 as conforming. The Staples and JCM lines, 366.21, are not. No listed use covers storage boxes, bags or shirts. The record does not settle the other 2,176.71. The workbooks can serve school prevention, but no curriculum or evidence base is in the record. No item list was produced for the 4imprint order. The journal is discussed below.
What it told the State
- FY2023. 0.00 expended and 0.00 administrative as of 06/30/2023. The goals were "Still evaluating."
- FY2024. 0.00 expended, 0.00 encumbered, 0.00 administrative and 88,860.76 unspent. No programs funded.
- FY2025. 0.00 expended, 0.00 encumbered, 0.00 administrative and 105,856.71 unspent. No new programs funded.
- FY2026. 1,288.69 expended, 0.00 encumbered, 0.00 administrative, administrative details "N/A," and 99,740.66 unspent on hand. One program, Think Purple, at 1,288.69.
The first three reports agree with the books. The account paid nothing before 10/28/2025.
The administrative charge
On 11/05/2025 journal GJ 256 took 1,254.23 from the opioid account. The ledger describes it as "5% Opiod charge off - admin fees." The journal voucher the Township produced debits 01-213-23-240-010 and credits 01-201-20-130-011, a Financial Administration appropriation. It reads posted by the chief financial officer. It names no approver and shows no computation.
Five percent of 25,084.69, the FY2023 payment, is 1,254.23. The charge was taken more than two years after that payment arrived.
An administrative charge can be an allowable cost. Staffing the oversight of abatement programs is among the uses Exhibit E lists. No policy, time record or cost allocation supporting the 5 percent is in the record.
The FY2026 report asks what the Township spent on administrative expenses between 07/01/2025 and 06/30/2026. It answers 0.00. It asks for details and gets "N/A." Its spent figure, 1,288.69, is the four vendor payments to the cent. The 1,254.23 is in neither figure. Left a 1,254.23 admin charge out of the FY2026 report.
Think Purple
The FY2026 report lists one program, Think Purple, a "Municipal-led prevention program for kids" run by Recreation and Police. It reports 440 children served and files the program under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. Its stated impact is to "Teach kids not to use opioids." The four vendor payments make its 1,288.69 to the cent.
Two of the four are storage boxes and bags from Staples, 297.21, and the opioid account's share of a shirt order from JCM Associates, 69.00. No listed use covers them, and no record describes a program they serve. Certified shirts and storage boxes as opioid prevention.
The Township's vendor histories show where the same vendors were paid before. No earlier payment matches an opioid account charge to the cent.
- 4imprint. Purchase order 2600282 paid 1,815.80 for the 2026 MAC Think Purple Week supply order on check 15498. Account 01-213-25-240-003 paid 1,800.00. The opioid account paid 15.80. In 2022 and 2023 the Township's Think Purple supply orders from the same vendor were paid 1,800.00 from a Municipal Alliance grant each year, with the rest from the Reserve for MAC Funds.
- JCM Associates. Purchase order 2601134 paid 4,169.00 for 2026 Lead Shirts on check 16331. Account 01-213-25-240-003 paid 4,100.00, described as "2026 Lead Shirts for MAC." The opioid account paid 69.00. Municipal Alliance grants paid this vendor for L.E.A.D. program supplies every year from 2019 to 2023.
- L.E.A.D. Inc. The police Books and Publications line paid this vendor for a "Too Good 4 Drugs Grd 5" kit in 2019. On 03/10/2026 account 01-203-25-240-041 paid it 750.00 for a five day training.
- Staples. Its history shows office supplies for Finance, the Clerk, the Assessor, the Court and Recreation. The 297.21 for storage boxes and bags is the only Staples charge to the opioid account.
Unspent on hand
The FY2026 report says the Township has received 122,238.42 and spent 1,288.69, with nothing encumbered and nothing on administration. That leaves 120,949.73. The report certifies 99,740.66 unspent on hand, 21,209.07 less. The FY2025 report certified every dollar received to that date, 105,856.71, as on hand. The report gives no reason for the difference. Counting the 1,254.23 journal, 19,954.84 is still unexplained. The produced opioid grant account held 22,541.77 on 05/19/2026, the last date its print covers. Certified 21,209.07 less on hand than its own figures leave.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.