Union County
Union County's spending figures match its books within 1,000.00, but every report it has filed misstates what it received or claims more money on hand and committed than it had left.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- The County can add up what it spent. It cannot add up what it has left.
- The FY2026 report claims 2,060,269.95 on hand and committed. By the report's own figures 1,359,551.62 was left. The gap is 700,718.33.
- The FY2024 and FY2025 reports do the same, by 93,360.37 and 212,625.00.
- The FY2023 report counts 374,075.38 as received by 06/30/2023. It arrived on 08/22/2023.
- The FY2026 report claims 33,642.75 more received than the books show ever arrived.
- Spending matches the books to the cent, except a 1,000.00 slip in one treatment program.
- 2,280,612.20 went to eight providers. The County produced no contract, invoice or purchase order text for any of them. The ledger lines say DRAW DOWN.
- On 07/29/2026 the fund bought a 44,928.30 van. No produced record says what it is for.
Summary
Union County reports receiving 3,625,450.64 in opioid settlement money since 2022. Its books show 3,591,807.89 received through 06/30/2026 and 3,848,216.65 through 08/04/2026. 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 County keeps the money in one account, Opioid Litigation Recovery Funds. Through 08/28/2026 the account paid 2,407,995.08 net. This project classifies 404.80 of it as conforming and 2,407,590.28 as unverified. None of it is classified non-conforming.
The conforming 404.80 is two legal notices whose ledger lines name the opioid request for proposals. Everything else is unverified because no County record shows what it bought. The provider payments are drawdowns on purchase orders, and the ledger lines read DRAW DOWN or DRAWDOWN with a number. The County produced no contracts, invoices or scopes of work. The program descriptions come only from the County's own reports to the State.
| Payee | Program the reports name | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Prevention Links | Transportation, DynamiCare, recovery supports | 841,813.52 |
| PROCEED | CARE Project, harm reduction outreach | 468,701.68 |
| Owen Health Care | Enhanced Opioid Treatment Program | 330,064.86 |
| RWJBH Trinitas Regional | Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion | 254,127.76 |
| Mental Health Association of New Jersey | Peer outreach, Mobile Recovery Hotspot | 210,904.29 |
| Real House | Recovery coaching | 97,054.68 |
| Bridgeway Behavioral Health | Homeless Emergency Solutions | 57,945.41 |
| Atlantic Health System | Webinar series | 20,000.00 |
| Providers | 2,280,612.20 | |
| County salary | 55,118.59 | |
| County fringe | 26,670.99 | |
| Frank's Truck Center | Van | 44,928.30 |
| Legal notices | Requests for proposals | 665.00 |
| Paid through 08/28/2026 | 2,407,995.08 |
The County's LEAD program is paid to a hospital, not to a police department.
What the County told the State
| Year | Received in year | Received since 2022 | Spent | Encumbered | Administrative | Unspent on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 731,641.43 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||
| FY2024 | 1,688,883.12 | 2,420,524.55 | 27,768.84 | 720,956.91 | 141.04 | 1,765,159.17 |
| FY2025 | 881,253.39 | 3,301,777.94 | 933,910.79 | 319,028.00 | 24,218.26 | 2,233,695.31 |
| FY2026 | 323,672.70 | 3,625,450.64 | 1,304,219.39 | 907,325.99 | 53,079.52 | 1,152,943.96 |
The FY2023 form asked for money received and spent as of 06/30/2023. It did not ask for encumbered or unspent figures.
The FY2024 report funded five programs. The FY2025 report updated the same five. The FY2026 report added six and updated the five again.
What the County has left
Each report gives money encumbered but not yet spent and money unspent and uncommitted on hand. Together they cannot exceed what came in less what went out. In every report filed since FY2024 they do. The table uses the reports' own figures.
| Report | Received since 2022 | Certified spent to date | Left | Encumbered plus unspent | Excess |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 2,420,524.55 | 27,768.84 | 2,392,755.71 | 2,486,116.08 | 93,360.37 |
| FY2025 | 3,301,777.94 | 961,679.63 | 2,340,098.31 | 2,552,723.31 | 212,625.00 |
| FY2026 | 3,625,450.64 | 2,265,899.02 | 1,359,551.62 | 2,060,269.95 | 700,718.33 |
The books leave even less. At 06/30/2026 the account had received 3,591,807.89 and paid 2,266,899.02. That leaves 1,324,908.87, against the 2,060,269.95 the FY2026 report claims.
- Reported 700,718.33 more on hand than it had left
- FY2025 report claimed 212,625.00 more than it had left
- FY2024 report claimed 93,360.37 more than it had left
What the County says it received
The State's year runs 07/01 to 06/30. The County's receipt figures do not. Each year's cumulative figure equals the receipts on the books through August after the year closed.
The FY2023 question asked for money received as of 06/30/2023. The County answered 731,641.43. By that date one receipt had posted, 357,566.05 on 12/19/2022. The rest, 374,075.38, posted 08/22/2023.
Because each report counts the next August, each year's received figure is off.
| Report | Received in the year, certified | Received in the year, books | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 731,641.43 | 357,566.05 | 374,075.38 more |
| FY2024 | 1,688,883.12 | 1,644,369.10 | 44,514.02 more |
| FY2025 | 881,253.39 | 1,044,076.61 | 162,823.22 less |
| FY2026 | 323,672.70 | 545,796.13 | 222,123.43 less |
The FY2026 report also certifies 3,625,450.64 received since 2022. The books show 3,591,807.89 through 06/30/2026 and no receipt between 05/05/2026 and 08/04/2026. The certified figure is 33,642.75 more than the books show arrived by year end.
- FY2023 report counted 374,075.38 that had not arrived
- Reported 33,642.75 more received than its books show
- FY2025 report understated receipts by 162,823.22
- FY2024 report overstated receipts by 44,514.02
What the County says it spent
The FY2024 report certifies 27,768.84 spent. Six provider drawdowns and a 141.04 legal notice paid between 07/01/2023 and 06/30/2024 make that figure to the cent. The FY2025 report certifies 933,910.79. The account paid 937,608.46 in that year and took back 3,697.67 of payroll on 03/04/2025. That nets to 933,910.79. Every program amount in both reports equals the payments to its provider in the year. FY2024 and FY2025 reports tie to the books to the cent.
The FY2026 report certifies 1,304,219.39 spent between 07/01/2025 and 06/30/2026. The account paid 1,305,219.39 in that year. Ten of the eleven program amounts match their providers to the cent. The eleventh is Owen Health Care's Enhanced Opioid Treatment Program.
| Record | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified, Enhanced Opioid Treatment Program, FY2026 | 134,201.36 |
| Paid to Owen Health Care, seven drawdowns, FY2026 | 135,201.36 |
| Difference | 1,000.00 |
The report's total carries the same 1,000.00 gap. Certified 1,000.00 less treatment spending than it paid.
A figure that matches the books shows the money left the account. It does not show what the money bought. The County produced no contract or invoice for any provider.
The salaries
The account's salary line has carried two County employees since 12/2024. The County reports their pay and fringe to the State as administrative expense, 24,218.26 in FY2025 and 53,079.52 in FY2026. Both figures match the books.
Before 12/2024 the same payroll ran through other grants. Grant salary line G-02-24-794-726-011 paid County payroll every pay period from 01/12/2024 to 11/27/2024. Its first entry was itself a payroll moved in from a 2023 grant account. It made no payroll after 11/27/2024.
On 12/02/2024 a journal moved the 11/27/2024 payroll of one of the two employees, 1,789.93, from that line onto the opioid account. From then on the opioid account carried the payroll. On 12/13/2024 a second journal put 2,023.55 on the opioid account with a memo naming the 2024 grant line as its source. That line's own activity report shows no entry for it. On 03/04/2025 a third journal split the first four 2025 pay periods across the opioid account and two other grant accounts. None of the three journals produced shows an approver.
The County also bills the account for fringe at 60.164 percent for 2024, 62.350 percent for 2025 and 65.679 percent for early 2026. The money goes to a County fringe benefits revenue line. Through 08/28/2026 the account carries 55,118.59 of salary and 26,670.99 of fringe.
Staffing the oversight of abatement programs is a listed use. The records do not show what work the two employees do, or whether their County budget line was reduced when the settlement fund picked them up. No record shows the same pay charged to another fund before, to the cent. This project classifies the salary and fringe as unverified and publishes no finding on them.
Real House
The County's FY2026 report describes Real House as recovery coaching, a listed use. The County paid it 383,482.94 from other grant accounts in 2024 and 97,861.18 in 2025. In 2026 it paid Real House 97,054.68 from the opioid account and 1,460.00 from everything else. The grant accounts that paid Real House before run on their own award years, so the drop may be timing. The records do not settle whether the settlement money added to Real House's funding or replaced it. This project classifies those payments as unverified.
Prevention Links is the contrast. It received 293,821.09 from other County funds in 2023 and 536,728.47 in 2024, the year its opioid funding began.
The van
On 07/29/2026 the account paid Frank's Truck Center 44,928.30 on purchase order 26004402, check 520206. The ledger line reads Van Purchase-OSF. No program in any of the County's reports describes a vehicle. No produced record says what the van is, which department has it or what it is for.
The payment falls in the year that ends 06/30/2027. The County's report for that year is due 09/01/2027. A vehicle used for mobile outreach or rides to treatment can serve a listed use. This project classifies the payment as unverified until the record shows which.
What should happen
The County can produce the contracts and invoices behind its provider payments. It can show what work the two employees on the salary line do, and whether their County budget line was cut when the fund took them on. It can document the van's use. It can show whether the Real House payments added to that program or replaced its earlier funding.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.