Franklin Township, Somerset County
Franklin Township spent 174,381.06 of its opioid settlement money on police vehicles and their outfitting, certified the vehicles to the State as drug prevention and overdose harm reduction, and certified 87,782.75 more spending in FY2025 than its accounts paid.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Franklin Township paid 174,381.06 from its settlement accounts for two Ford Mustang Mach-E, a Ford T350 van, their lights and outfitting, and striping for a marked unit.
- It certified a program called "L.E.A.D. Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence vehicles and curricula" at 143,104.33 under drug prevention education. The curricula cost 2,299.75.
- It certified an "ARRIVE Together Program vehicle" at 63,931.58 as overdose harm reduction. No order on the books equals that figure.
- It paid 24,505.25 for police radios, giveaways and a fire extinguisher in FY2025 and certified that year's spending as prevention and harm reduction.
- Its FY2025 report counts 87,782.75 more spending than left the accounts that year.
- Its FY2025 report says the Township spent and still holds 58,763.50 more than it ever received. Its FY2026 report claims 108,266.57 more on hand than its own figures allow.
- Its FY2026 report counts the same 24,900.00 Middle Earth check a second time, and a 20,000.00 order it has not paid. It leaves out 8,617.97 it did pay, including Halloween inflatables and a skeleton.
- Eleven months after the settlement fund bought two Mach-E, the Township bought a third from the same dealer out of its police vehicle budget.
The fund spent 10,080.00 on naloxone. It spent 1,600.00 on police rubber ducks.
Summary
Franklin Township, Somerset County, reported receiving 720,236.32 in opioid settlement money 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 Township keeps the money in two grant accounts, G-02-41-23-0900-000 and G-02-41-24-0900-000. Through 08/28/2026 the two accounts paid 282,446.35 and held 24,950.00 in open orders. Of the paid amount, 14,580.00 went to listed uses that a Township record documents: naloxone and an opioid use disorder course for police officers. This project classifies 206,308.60 as non-conforming and 61,557.75 as unverified. The unverified share includes 23,150.00 of school assemblies by Not An Easy Fix. The orders read training assembly, and no record produced shows what the assemblies covered.
Every purchase order the Township produced for these accounts ships to the Police Department. Every program on its FY2025 report names the Police Department as recipient except the two run by outside providers. Read the Township's findings.
The vehicles
| Purchase | Paid | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Two 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E, Nielsen Ford of Morristown | 11/12/2024 | 95,125.70 |
| Emergency lighting for the two Mach-E, East Coast Emergency Lighting | 04/08/2025 | 15,514.46 |
| Reflective lettering and striping for a marked unit, Agin Signs | 07/08/2025 | 950.00 |
| 2024 Ford Transit outfitting, East Coast Emergency Lighting | 09/30/2025 | 8,732.40 |
| 2024 Ford T350 High Roof passenger wagon, Ciocca Ford | 11/25/2025 | 54,058.50 |
| Vehicles and outfitting | 174,381.06 |
Resolution 24-313, adopted 09/10/2024, bought the two Mach-E. It names no account and says nothing about opioid settlement money. The striping order describes its own purpose as a package for a marked unit with a "Nexus for Drug Prevention/Enforcement."
The FY2025 report files these vehicles under two programs. The first is titled "L.E.A.D. Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence vehicles and curricula." It is certified at 143,104.33 under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. Its funding date, 11/12/2024, is the day the account paid for the two Mach-E. The account's only purchase from Lead Inc is a set of Too Good for Drugs and Violence kits and workbooks for 2,299.75. The record does not show which payments make up 143,104.33. No listed prevention use covers a vehicle. Filed police vehicles under drug prevention education.
The second is titled "ARRIVE Together Program vehicle." It is certified at 63,931.58 under Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention. ARRIVE Together pairs an officer with a mental health screener. The report says the program guideline "required a police car with no markings." No payment or order on the accounts equals 63,931.58, and no record ties any of the vehicles to the program. Certified a police car as overdose harm reduction.
The Township buys the same cars from its own budget
On 08/13/2024 Resolution 24-271 bought four Ford Police Interceptors from the same dealer for up to 182,691.20, charged to police capital accounts. A month later the settlement fund bought the two Mach-E. On 08/15/2025 the Township ordered a 2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E from the same dealer for 47,358.65 and charged it to its line POLICE DEPT.-PURCHASE OF VEHICLES.
The same upfitter outfitted patrol cars on the police bond capital account on an order of 04/17/2025. Every other vehicle Ciocca Ford sold the Township from 2018 to 2026 went on a capital or utility account.
Giveaways
The fund paid JCM Associates 9,835.31 for fun spinners, cinch bags, lanyards, mood pencils, sports balls, stress balls, water bottles and lanterns. It paid Kaeser and Blair 4,254.32 for police badge labels, clip on police badges, stickers, coloring books, crayons and 1,600.00 of police rubber ducks.
The Township bought the same kinds of items before, from the Byrne JAG police youth grant, the Municipal Alliance grant and its police supplies line. No drug prevention program using the items is documented.
The fund also paid 17,223.00 for two Motorola APX 8500 police radios and 184.00 for a fire extinguisher split off a police order. The FY2025 report counts every payment of that year inside five programs. Once Narcan, the school assemblies and Middle Earth are set aside, only the two police programs remain to carry the radios, the 7,098.25 of JCM giveaways paid that year and the extinguisher. No listed use covers them. Certified police radios and giveaways as abatement.
Other payments include Halloween inflatables for 330.91, pizza for 100.00 and banner advertising space at Franklin High School for 4,500.00.
What the Township told the State
| Year | Certified spent | Paid from the accounts in the year |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2024 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| FY2025 | 257,685.91 | 169,903.16 |
| FY2026 | 62,888.98 | 100,808.87 |
The FY2023 and FY2024 reports certify nothing spent, and the books agree. The FY2024 report names L.E.A.D. and ARRIVE Together as the Township's goals.
The FY2025 report certifies 257,685.91 spent and 0.00 encumbered. The accounts paid 169,903.16 in that year. Narcan, 10,080.00, and Not an easy fix, 15,670.00, tie to payments to the cent. The Middle Earth program is certified at 24,900.00 spent. Its purchase order was first encumbered 09/15/2025 and paid 10/14/2025, after the year closed. The Ford T350 and the Transit outfitting orders were open on 06/30/2025, and the report shows no encumbrance. Certified 87,782.75 more spent than it paid in FY2025.
The reports' own figures do not add up.
| Year | Received since 2022 | Spent, all reports | On hand, as reported | Received less spent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 424,109.91 | 0.00 | 404,300.75 | 424,109.91 |
| FY2025 | 569,049.39 | 257,685.91 | 370,126.98 | 311,363.48 |
| FY2026 | 720,236.32 | 320,574.89 | 507,928.00 | 399,661.43 |
The FY2024 report spends nothing and holds 19,809.16 less than it received. Reported 19,809.16 less on hand with nothing spent. The FY2025 report spends and holds 58,763.50 more than it received. Its FY2025 report accounts for 58,763.50 it never got.
FY2026
The State published the Township's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 62,888.98 spent and 0.00 encumbered.
| Program | Certified spent | Books |
|---|---|---|
| ZSchool opioid use disorder certificate for police | 4,500.00 | Check 3301, 02/24/2026, 4,500.00 |
| Community Recovery Champion | 20,000.00 | Order open, nothing paid |
| Not an easy fix, update | 7,480.00 | Paid 07/14/2026, after the year |
| Employee Readiness, Middle Earth, update | 30,908.98 | Check 3200, 10/14/2025, 24,900.00 |
| Total | 62,888.98 |
The ZSchool course ties to the cent.
The Middle Earth update certifies 30,908.98. The only Middle Earth payment from the settlement accounts is check 3200 for 24,900.00. The FY2025 report had already certified it. Together the two reports certify 55,808.98 for a program the accounts paid 24,900.00. The same check paid Middle Earth 10,000.00 from a CDBG grant line named for a Middle Earth part time counselor. Two reports count the same 24,900.00 youth program check.
The Community Recovery Champion order to Community in Crisis was encumbered 05/22/2026. It was still unpaid on 08/28/2026. The Township's only payment ever to that vendor is a 25.00 refund in 2023. Certified 20,000.00 spent on an order still unpaid.
On 06/30/2026 the account carried 36,289.32 of unpaid orders. The report counts 27,480.00 of them as spent and certifies 0.00 encumbered. A 4,600.00 video order and a 4,209.32 Kaeser and Blair order appear nowhere. Left 8,809.32 of open orders out of the FY2026 report.
The accounts paid 100,808.87 in FY2026. That includes the Ford T350 and the Transit outfitting at 62,790.90, which no FY2026 program names. It also includes 8,617.97 that no program names and the report does not count: the striping, 2,737.06 of JCM giveaways, the banner ad, the Halloween decorations and the pizza. Left 8,617.97 of FY2026 payments out of its report.
The FY2026 report says 507,928.00 is on hand. Its own received and spent figures leave 399,661.43. The books, which show 270,712.03 paid through 06/30/2026, leave 449,524.29. Claimed 108,266.57 more on hand than its figures allow.
What should happen
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 the L.E.A.D. and ARRIVE figures.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.