Union City

Summary

Union City, Hudson County, reported receiving 2,012,560.49 in opioid settlement money through 06/30/2025. The national settlements list abatement uses such as 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 add to existing spending, not replace it.

The City produced three settlement accounts, G-02-03-23-016-000-0000, G-02-03-24-011-000-0000 and G-02-03-24-032-000-0000, each printed from 01/01/2022 to 05/28/2026. Together they show 494,658.97 paid and 295,440.00 open.

This project classifies 313,500.00 of the payments as conforming and 181,158.97 as unverified, because the records do not show what they bought. None is classified non-conforming on this record. Read the City's findings.

What the City told the State

The FY2023 report certifies 0.00 spent as of 06/30/2023 and says the City "has not begun any programs yet." The FY2024 report certifies 0.00 spent and 0.00 encumbered for the year ending 06/30/2024. The accounts show no payment before 03/05/2025. Both reports agree with the books.

The FY2025 report covers 07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025.

It reports one program, the Opioid Remediation Project. It names the recipient as Partner's in Prevention. It certifies 300,000.00 of funding, 54,450.00 expended and 245,550.00 encumbered.

Where the 54,450.00 went

The audit trail for account G-02-03-23-016-000-0000 and the audit trail for account G-02-03-24-032-000-0000 show three payments in the period.

The total is the certified figure to the cent. The report puts it all on the program it says Partners in Prevention runs. Partners in Prevention received 31,950.00. The program description says law enforcement officers were trained in operational readiness for addressing opioid use disorder. It does not say that a separate vendor was paid for it. Put 54,450.00 on one recipient. It received 31,950.00.

A 2,453.78 reimbursement paid on 03/05/2025 was moved the same day to the City's Drug Free Communities grant. It nets to zero on the settlement account.

Administration

The FY2025 report certifies 0.00 of administrative expense and answers the request for details with "NONE." In the same period the City paid PRS Consultants 9,000.00 as its opioid grant consultant. The FY2024 report had already told the State that the City awarded contracts to Partners in Prevention and PRS Consultants in February 2025. The City's next PRS order, 26000017, is for a 2026 national opioid administrator. Reported no administration while paying a grant consultant.

No engagement letter or scope of work for PRS is in the records produced. Staffing the management of abatement programs is a use Exhibit E lists. What PRS did for its 45,000.00 is not shown.

The encumbrance figures

The program block certifies 245,550.00 encumbered. That is 300,000.00 less 54,450.00. On 06/30/2025 the Partners in Prevention order had 268,050.00 unpaid. The City paid it later in three checks, on 07/09/2025, 10/08/2025 and 03/04/2026. The certified figure is 22,500.00 below the open order. The gap is the PRS and ZSchool money the block counts as program spending. Program encumbrance is 300,000.00 less 54,450.00.

The report as a whole certifies 369,300.00 encumbered but not yet spent. The audit trails show 360,300.00 of order lines open on 06/30/2025.

The certified figure equals every later payment on the FY2025 orders. That includes 9,000.00 on PRS order 25000915 line 6, paid by check 102281 on 12/18/2025. The audit trail prints that line's first encumbrance date as 09/30/2025, after the year closed. Certified 369,300.00 open. The books held 360,300.00.

The unspent balance

The FY2025 report certifies 1,668,403.55 unspent and uncommitted. Receipts since 2022 less spending is 1,958,110.49. Less spending and encumbrances it is 1,588,810.49. The certified figure matches neither. The City produced no revenue account, so it cannot be tested against the books. FY2025 unspent balance follows from none of its figures.

The prevention program

Partners in Prevention's 2025 order was paid in full, 300,000.00 across four checks. The FY2025 report says the City chose it through a request for proposals. It describes school prevention curricula, naloxone training, over 400 people trained and more than 500 naloxone kits given out. Naloxone training and distribution and school prevention are uses Exhibit E lists. Partners in Prevention contract paid in full, 300,000.00.

A second order to Partners in Prevention, described only as "CONSULTANT," shows 45,450.00 paid on 05/07/2026 and 254,550.00 open. The FY2026 report names Partners in Prevention as a recipient of its Opioid Remediation Project, funded 01/02/2026. No contract or scope of work for the order is in the record.

FY2026

The FY2026 report, published 10/01/2026, covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026.

The produced audit trails end 05/28/2026. From 07/01/2025 to that date the accounts paid 440,208.97, which is 9,000.00 less than certified. The gap matches one quarterly payment on the open PRS Consultants order. That is an inference, because the books after 05/28/2026 were not produced.

The report lists two new programs.

The ZSchool figure ties to the cent. On 05/07/2026 check 104820 paid ZSchool 54,450.00 on a third line of the police training order, described only as "TRAINING," and 19,800.00 for "EMT OPIOID TRAINING." The audit trail for account G-02-03-24-011-000-0000 also shows a journal of 08/22/2025 for 15,375.83, described as "OPIOID TRAINING OT HOURS PD SETON HALL," and two journals of 463.01 and 620.13 described only as "NATIONAL OPIOID SETTLEMENT." The five charges make the 90,708.97. The report says the school was paid in full and first responders are paid through payroll when they complete the certificate. The journal names no officer, hours or course. Charged 15,375.83 of police overtime to the fund.

The report answers the set-aside question twice. Question 7 certifies 286,440.00. The two program blocks, both funded inside the year, certify 386,841.03. The ZSchool block's 114,291.03 is its funding less its spending, and no ZSchool order was open on the books after 05/07/2026. Question 7 leaves it out and instead counts 13,890.00 of open flyer orders that no program lists. Two figures for money set aside, 100,401.03 apart.

The report also prints an update to the Opioid Remediation Project with 449,208.97 expended, labeled for 7/1/2024 to 6/30/2025. That is the report's whole FY2026 spending figure, ZSchool included. The FY2025 report certified 54,450.00 for that year, and the new 2026 block for the same project certifies 358,500.00. One project given two spending figures in one report.

What should happen

The State relies on these reports to see where settlement money goes. The Department of Human Services should compare the City's FY2025 report with its ledger, and ask who prepared the program and encumbrance figures and from what records.

The City can release the PRS Consultants engagement, the second Partners in Prevention order and the ZSchool course records. Those would show whether 181,158.97 of unverified payments paid for listed uses or documented, evidence-based programs.

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