Vernon Township
Vernon Township certifies all of its settlement spending to the State as new police officer training, while its own ledger shows that since 07/01/2023 the money has bought giveaways, Halloween candy, police AED pads and a Junior Police adventure trip, much of it moved off police budget lines.
Published 10/03/2026
TLDR
- Vernon Township has filed one program with the State every year since 2023, New Police Officer's Training.
- In FY2026 it certified 16,543.93 under that name. The accounts paid 14,307.93 that year. None of it was training. Among the purchases were stadium cups, mood bracelets, glow in the dark footballs, police smiley pens, an EZ Up tent, Trick or Trail and tree lighting supplies and AED pads.
- FY2024 and FY2025 were the same. Of 27,884.42 paid in those two years, 2,061.87 was academy tuition and training travel.
- The police budget used to buy the same things. Junior Police giveaways, Trick or Trail bags, the Junior Police adventure park trip and AED pads were paid from police and other operating lines through 2023 or 2024. Then the settlement accounts paid for them instead.
- Of 47,760.99 paid from the settlement accounts through 07/21/2026, nothing went to treatment, recovery, harm reduction or naloxone.
Summary
Vernon Township, Sussex County, reports receiving 162,467.58 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 Township appropriated 77,153.27 into two settlement accounts, G-02-40-717-01 and G-02-40-717-02. Through 08/31/2026 they paid 47,760.99 on 44 lines. One order of 1,033.13 is open, and 28,359.15 of the appropriation is unspent. This project classifies 45,617.76 of the spending as non-conforming and 2,143.23 as unverified. None of it is classified as conforming. Read the Township's findings.
What the money bought
| Spending | Amount |
|---|---|
| Positive Promotions giveaways, two EZ Up tents and community relations supplies | 14,095.68 |
| Police AEDs and AED pads and cases | 12,182.00 |
| Trick or Trail Halloween and tree lighting supplies and candy | 9,138.32 |
| Junior Police Academy trips, supplies and uniforms | 6,296.76 |
| Police academy tuition and testing for four recruits | 3,905.00 |
| LEAD program supplies and a conference expense | 1,676.36 |
| Hotel and meals for drug recognition training | 466.87 |
| Paid through 07/21/2026 | 47,760.99 |
The AED line is two payments of 4,150.00 to Newton Medical Center Foundation for police AEDs and 3,882.00 to Team Life for pads and cases. The Junior Police line is 4,516.68 for three trips to Treescape Aerial Adventure Park, 203.12 of supplies and 1,576.96 of uniforms. None of 47,760.99 paid went to treatment or recovery.
What the Township told the State
| Report | Received in the year | Certified spent | Paid in the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023, to 06/30/2023 | 32,948.87 | 2,310.00 | 2,310.00 |
| FY2024 | 29,517.63 | 12,205.99 | 9,144.72 |
| FY2025 | 38,498.24 | 21,421.15 | 18,739.70 |
| FY2026 | 61,502.84 | 16,543.93 | 14,307.93 |
Each report lists one program, New Police Officer's Training, and certifies the whole expended figure under it. The State's fiscal year runs 07/01 to 06/30.
The FY2023 report matches the books. It certifies 2,310.00 spent on new officer training. On 06/08/2023 check 59938 paid Passaic County Police Academy 1,155.00 for each of two recruits. The two payments make the figure to the cent.
FY2026
The State published the Township's FY2026 report on 10/01/2026. It covers 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. It certifies 16,543.93 spent and 3,269.13 encumbered. All of the spending is filed as an update of New Police Officer's Training. The report states the goals as training officers in current drug trends, keeping supplies stocked and buying supplies for police and community events. It reports 2 training or education sessions and says the program allowed officers to attend training in drug recognition.
The settlement accounts paid 14,307.93 in the year, on nine checks.
| Payee | Purchase | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Promotions | Stadium cups, glow in the dark footballs, slap and mood bracelets, tote bags, jotters, police smiley pens, shipping | 2,316.13 |
| Positive Promotions | Community relations supplies, 06/09/2026 | 4,052.30 |
| Positive Promotions | EZ Up tent | 895.42 |
| Positive Promotions | Community relations items | 554.52 |
| Amazon | Trick or Trail and tree lighting supplies | 3,954.54 |
| Amazon | Junior Police supplies | 203.12 |
| Team Life | AED pads, two orders | 1,911.00 |
| JCM Associates | LEAD supplies | 420.90 |
| Paid in FY2026 | 14,307.93 |
None of it was training. The one training order on the accounts is a 1,033.13 drug recognition training blanket order opened on 02/04/2025. It paid nothing in FY2026. The certified figure is 2,236.00 above what the accounts paid. On the Township's 05/28/2026 print, Treescape Junior Police trip order 26-00492 was open at 2,236.00. It was paid at 1,681.68 on 07/09/2026, after the year closed. The certified encumbered figure, 3,269.13, is that same order plus the drug recognition blanket.
The report names the events the supplies served, Trick or Trail, Vernon Day, Safety Town and the Junior Police Academy. It certifies them as new officer training. Certified giveaways and a tent as new officer training.
FY2024 and FY2025
The FY2024 report certifies 12,205.99 and the FY2025 report 21,421.15, each under New Police Officer's Training. Neither figure matches the books. The accounts paid 9,144.72 and 18,739.70 in those years. The record does not show how the certified figures were built.
What the accounts paid in the two years:
| Spending, 07/01/2023 to 06/30/2025 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Police AEDs and AED cases and pads | 10,271.00 |
| Glow stick necklaces, an EZ Up tent, flashlights and community relations supplies | 6,277.31 |
| Trick or Trail supplies and candy | 5,183.78 |
| Junior Police trips to Treescape | 2,835.00 |
| Academy tuition and testing for two recruits | 1,595.00 |
| LEAD supplies and a LEAD conference expense | 1,255.46 |
| Hotel and meals for drug recognition training | 466.87 |
| Paid | 27,884.42 |
Training of officers accounts for 2,061.87 of it. The reports mention the Junior Police Academy, Trick or Trail and supplies for township events, and certify all of it as new officer training. Two more years of giveaways filed as officer training.
Costs moved off police budget lines
The Township produced vendor histories from 2018 to 2026 for eight of the vendors the settlement accounts paid. They show police and other operating lines paying for the same items before the settlement accounts took them over.
Positive Promotions sold the Police Department Junior Police badges, mood pencils, mood bracelets and glow in the dark flyers in 2021, Trick or Trail bags in 2022, and glow flyers and Trick or Trail supplies in 2023, all from police lines. The 2023 Trick or Trail order was split. Four lines went to the police miscellaneous line and the glow stick necklaces, 740.00, went to the settlement account on the same check. No police line has paid the vendor since 10/31/2023. The settlement accounts have paid it 14,095.68. Moved police event giveaways from its budget to the fund.
The Junior Police trip to Treescape Aerial Adventure Park was paid from the police Junior Police line in 2019, 2022 and 2023, 3,618.50 in all. From 2024 the settlement accounts paid it, 1,435.00, 1,400.00 and 1,681.68. Moved the Junior Police adventure trip onto the fund.
Team Life sold the Township AED pads, electrodes and batteries in every year from 2019 to 2024, 8,854.00 charged to police and other operating lines. From 07/12/2024 the settlement accounts paid for the same kind of supplies, 3,882.00. No operating line has bought them since 12/18/2024. No overdose program using the AEDs is documented. Shifted police AED pads from its budget to the fund.
The 2023 academy order for two new recruits opened on the police education, conference and schools line before its costs were charged to the settlement account. In 2021 the police budget paid Morris County Fire/Police Academy 1,000.00 for a basic police class. In 2024 the settlement account paid the same academy the same 1,000.00 for a recruit's tuition. Paid recruit academy costs the police budget had carried.
Section D(7) of the agreement between the State and its towns requires the money to supplement local spending and not supplant it. That these purchases replaced spending the police budget would otherwise have carried is this project's analysis of the vendor history.
What should happen
The settlement accounts have paid 45,617.76 for giveaways, event supplies, AEDs and AED supplies, Junior Police trips and recruit costs that no documented abatement program supports. Much of it is spending the police budget carried before. The Township can restore that money to the fund and spend it on a listed use or a documented abatement program.
The State relies on these reports to verify compliance. The Department of Human Services and the Office of the State Comptroller should examine the FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026 reports, who prepared them, and what records support them.
How this project classifies spending is set out in the methodology and the rubric. Corrections follow the corrections policy.