Trenton
Trenton has spent 600,733.37 of its opioid settlement money, all from one Police Department account, and its reports to the State certify no spending in a year the account paid 137,514.99 and unspent balances the books do not show.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Trenton reports receiving 3,524,962.85 in opioid settlement money since 2022. Through 07/08/2026 it had spent 600,733.37.
- Every dollar spent left one account, titled OPIOID SETTLEMENTS POLICE DEPT. Almost all of it paid a contractor for the Police Department's outreach team.
- The FY2024 report says the City spent no settlement money and that the outreach team ran on a grant. The settlement police account paid 137,514.99 that year, police uniforms included.
- The FY2026 report counts a 37,679.38 check written on 07/07/2026 as spending in the year that ended 06/30/2026. The same report says nothing was encumbered.
- The FY2025 report says 1,093,543.44 was on hand. The police settlement account alone held 1,180,030.40 more.
- The FY2024 report says 3,006,698.68 was on hand, 381,308.70 more than the City says it had ever received.
- On 07/08/2026, 3,394,095.87 sat unspent across six accounts.
Summary
Trenton City, Mercer County, reports receiving 3,524,962.85 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 City's books show 600,733.37 spent from 01/24/2024 to 07/07/2026. All of it came from one account, G-SS-24-50-101B-299, titled OPIOID SETTLEMENTS POLICE DEPT., 23. Of that, 594,382.11 paid Recovery Advocates of America for monthly invoices on the Police Department's Opioid Response Team. The DHS reports describe that team as a mobile outreach unit with peer recovery staff, naloxone, harm reduction supplies, wound care and referrals to treatment. Those are among the uses Exhibit E lists.
The question in Trenton is the reporting. The FY2024 report says no settlement money was spent while the settlement police account paid 137,514.99. The FY2026 report counts a payment made after the year closed. Three reports certify unspent balances that the books and the City's own receipts contradict. Read the City's findings.
The accounts
The City produced reports for six accounts in Fund SS, printed 07/08/2026. Five were run for 07/01/2026 to 07/08/2026 only. They show balances and no transactions. The Police Department account was run from 01/01/2020 and shows every transaction.
| Account | Title | Modified budget | Expended | Unexpended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G-SS-27-10-240B-299 | Opioid settlements, CY26 | 62,092.76 | 0.00 | 62,092.76 |
| G-SS-26-10-240B-299 | Opioid settlements, CY25 | 842,074.82 | 0.00 | 842,074.82 |
| G-SS-25-10-240B-299 | Opioid settlements, CY24 | 1,093,543.44 | 0.00 | 1,093,543.44 |
| G-SS-24-40-100B-299 | Opioid settlements, Health and Human Services, 23 | 400,000.00 | 0.00 | 400,000.00 |
| G-SS-24-70-102B-299 | Opioid settlements, Recreation, 23 | 102,122.16 | 0.00 | 102,122.16 |
| G-SS-24-50-101B-299 | Opioid settlements, Police Department, 23 | 1,494,996.06 | 600,733.37 | 894,262.69 |
| Total | 3,994,829.24 | 600,733.37 | 3,394,095.87 |
On 03/20/2025 the City moved 994,996.06 from the CY24 settlement account into the Police Department account. The CY24 account prints the transfer out. The Police Department account prints the transfer in, and a same-day entry that names BID2025-03 and was reversed the same day. The Police Department account started with a 500,000.00 appropriation under the control NJDO HUMAN SERVICES OPIOID, POLICE, CY23. The Health and Human Services and Recreation accounts carry the same control name. The three CY23 appropriations, 500,000.00, 400,000.00 and 102,122.16, total 1,002,122.16. That is the settlement money the FY2023 report says the City received by 06/30/2023.
Where the money went
| Payee | What the ledger says | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery Advocates of America | Opioid Response Team and Opioid and Overdose Mapping, 28 monthly payments | 594,382.11 |
| NYU Wagner Graduate School | Fee for engagement of capstone | 5,000.00 |
| Trenton Joe's | UNIFORMS/TPD and POLO SHORT SLEEVE | 1,351.26 |
| Total, 01/24/2024 to 07/07/2026 | 600,733.37 |
The FY2024 report says the Police Department hired NYU to evaluate the program. The ledger line reads FEE FOR ENGAGEMENT OF CAPSTONE. No contract or invoice from NYU was produced. This project classifies the fee as unverified.
The Trenton Joe's order bought police uniforms and short sleeve polos, check 286177 on 04/22/2024. The uniforms, 784.63, are not among the uses Exhibit E lists, and no listed use covers them. This project classifies them as non-conforming. The record does not show who wore the polos, 566.63, so they are unverified.
What Trenton told the State
| Year | Received in the year | Certified spent | Paid from the account in the year | Certified encumbered | Certified unspent on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 1,002,122.16 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Not asked | Not asked |
| FY2024 | 1,623,267.82 | 0.00 | 137,514.99 | 0.00 | 3,006,698.68 |
| FY2025 | 255,117.63 | 177,450.67 | 177,450.67 | 0.00 | 1,093,543.44 |
| FY2026 | 644,455.24 | 285,767.71 | 248,088.33 | 0.00 | 3,460,711.48 |
Each State fiscal year runs from 07/01 to 06/30.
FY2023
The FY2023 report lists one program, the Opioid and Overdose Mapping Response Team, launched 08/01/2022. It gives the funding as 240,000.00 "from a different funding source." It certifies nothing spent. The account made no payment before 01/24/2024.
The City's strategic plan says the Opioid Response Team program "will be utilizing $240,000 of Opioid Settlement Funds for a period of one year," paid as reimbursement on submitted invoices.
FY2024
The FY2024 report certifies 0.00 spent and 0.00 encumbered. It answers No when asked whether the City funded any program with settlement money that year. It explains that the Police Department "has opioid mapping/response team grant funding for FY24 spending, but will start utilizing OSF funding for FY25, once the grant funding has been completely drawn down."
The account titled OPIOID SETTLEMENTS POLICE DEPT., 23 paid 137,514.99 between 07/01/2023 and 06/30/2024. That is 131,163.73 to Recovery Advocates of America, 5,000.00 to NYU Wagner and 1,351.26 for the uniforms and polos. The only money in the account was the 500,000.00 CY23 settlement appropriation. The City's strategic plan says the team would use 240,000 of Opioid Settlement Funds. The FY2025 report later counts 116,161.51 paid from the same appropriation as settlement spending. Certified no settlement spending while paying 137,514.99.
The FY2024 report certifies 3,006,698.68 on hand. The same page says the City had received 2,625,389.98 in all, with no interest. Certified 381,308.70 more on hand than it ever received.
FY2025
The FY2025 report certifies 177,450.67 spent, all of it on the Opioid and Overdose Mapping Response Team. Eleven Recovery Advocates of America payments from the Police Department account, 08/09/2024 to 06/24/2025, make that figure to the cent. FY2025 spending ties to eleven outreach team payments.
Of those eleven payments, 116,161.51 was paid before the 994,996.06 transfer from the CY24 settlement account reached the Police Department account on 03/20/2025.
The report certifies 1,093,543.44 of unspent funds on hand. That equals, to the cent, the balance the 07/08/2026 print shows for one account, the CY24 settlement account. On 06/30/2025 the Police Department account held a further 1,180,030.40 unexpended. The report certifies 0.00 encumbered. The FY2024 figure on hand, plus FY2025 receipts, less FY2025 spending, gives 3,084,365.64. FY2025 unspent figure leaves out the police account.
FY2026
The State published the City's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 285,767.71 spent and 0.00 encumbered, all on the same program.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified spent, FY2026 | 285,767.71 |
| Twelve payments, 08/05/2025 to 05/26/2026 | 248,088.33 |
| Check 307435, 07/07/2026, order P6-03603 | 37,679.38 |
| Total of the thirteen payments | 285,767.71 |
Order P6-03603, for the May 2026 invoice, was first encumbered on 06/23/2026. It was open on 06/30/2026 and paid on 07/07/2026, after the year closed. The thirteen payments cover service months from 05/2025 through 05/2026. Counted a July 2026 check as FY2026 spending.
The report certifies 3,460,711.48 of unspent funds on hand. The six accounts held 3,431,775.25 unexpended on 06/30/2026 and 3,394,095.87 on 07/08/2026. Every unexpended dollar in every account falls 28,936.23 short of the certified figure. FY2026 unspent figure exceeds every account balance.
What the record does not show
- The resolution that created the 500,000.00 appropriation on the Police Department account.
- What BID2025-03 is, and the authorization for the 994,996.06 transfer.
- Transactions on the five other accounts before 07/01/2026, and on any account after 07/08/2026.
- What the 400,000.00 Health and Human Services and 102,122.16 Recreation appropriations are for. Neither has been spent.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.