South Orange Village Township
South Orange reported 101,719.02 in opioid settlement money received and 26,527.78 spent, then certified a FY2026 balance on hand 2,370.65 below what its own figures leave, in a year it says nothing was spent.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- South Orange has received 101,719.02 in opioid settlement money since 2022, by its own count.
- It has reported spending 26,527.78 of it, once, in FY2025. All of it went to one salary.
- That leaves 75,191.24. The FY2026 report says 72,820.59 is on hand.
- The FY2026 report says nothing was spent, encumbered or transferred that year. The balance still comes up 2,370.65 short.
- The Township has not produced a ledger.
Summary
South Orange Village Township, Essex County, reported receiving 101,719.02 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 reported spending nothing in three of its four years. In FY2025 it reported 26,527.78 spent on a crisis intervention social worker. This project has no ledger for the Township's settlement money. No account record has been produced, so the books cannot be checked against the reports. Its one finding rests on the reports' own figures. Read the Township's findings.
What the Township told the State
| Report | Received in the year | Received since 2022 | Spent | Encumbered | On hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 24,285.08 | 24,285.08 | 0.00 | not asked | not asked |
| FY2024 | 35,035.55 | 59,320.63 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 59,320.63 |
| FY2025 | 24,018.71 | 83,339.34 | 26,527.78 | 0.00 | 56,811.56 |
| FY2026 | 18,379.68 | 101,719.02 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 72,820.59 |
Every report certifies 0.00 of interest and 0.00 administrative expense. The Township reports it did not transfer its funds to the county.
The FY2026 report names the Mayor, Council, Business Administrator, Health Officer and Chief of Police as the officials who decided how to spend the money.
The FY2026 balance
The FY2026 report certifies 101,719.02 received since 2022. The only spending any of the four reports certifies is the 26,527.78 in FY2025. Received less spent leaves 75,191.24.
The FY2025 report certified 56,811.56 on hand at 06/30/2025. The FY2026 report certifies 18,379.68 received in the year. Those two figures also give 75,191.24.
The FY2026 report certifies 72,820.59 on hand. That is 2,370.65 less. The same report certifies 0.00 spent, 0.00 encumbered, 0.00 administrative and no transfer to the county. It answers No when asked whether the Township funded any program in the year. It gives no reason for the difference. FY2026 balance is 2,370.65 below its own figures.
The social worker
The FY2023 report planned two programs. One was a Full Time Crisis Intervention Social Worker, a co-responder paired with police on behavioral health calls, at 60,000.00. The other was support for the Maplewood/South Orange Municipal Alliance, with the amount listed as TBD. Both had a funding date and a launch date of TBD.
The FY2024 report certifies nothing spent and no program funded. Its account of the year describes "our full time crisis intervention social worker" already at work.
The FY2025 report updates the social worker program with 26,527.78 spent, equal to its total spending for the year. It says the amount "was applied towards the salary of our crisis intervention worker which is $61,726.58 yearly." It reports 168 participants served and 48 referrals to treatment. No later report mentions the Municipal Alliance.
The FY2026 report again describes the social worker program as the Township's initiative. It certifies nothing spent on it. Its program list repeats the FY2025 update word for word, including the 26,527.78 and its last updated date of 10/17/2025.
The reports do not show how the rest of the salary was paid, or whether the settlement money replaced a cost the Township already carried. Only the books can show that.
What the record does not show
The Township has not produced a ledger. Its reports give a balance that does not follow from its own figures and a salary paid in part from the fund. Only the account that holds the money can show what was spent, on what and when. That record is owed.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.