Verona Township

Summary

Verona Township, Essex County, reports receiving 50,150.60 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 keeps the money in five accounts. Three of them have paid anything. Through 09/18/2026 they paid 24,115.68 to seven vendors. Every dollar paid through 06/30/2026 appears in a report to the State, and each year's spending figure ties to the payments to the cent.

The conforming spending is the 15,000.00 Herren Talks presentation at Verona High School, crisis resource cards and a booklet, and Take Back bags. The non-conforming spending is National Night Out party activities and entertainment, and Red Ribbon Week candy, pencils and sunglasses. The unverified spending is a public service announcement and giveaway merchandise from Positive Promotions. Read the Township's findings.

What the Township told the State

The FY2023 report gives the 11,181.90 as everything received through 06/30/2023. It lists one program, National Night Out, at 1,370.00.

The FY2024 report certifies 1,770.00. Check 5625 paid Any Excuse for A Party 1,370.00 for National Night Out Activities on 12/18/2023. Check 6894 paid myVeronaNJ.com 400.00 for a four week AwareAwakeAlive public service announcement on 06/17/2024. FY2024 spending figure matches the books to the cent.

The FY2025 report certifies 17,298.48 across four programs. Herren Talks is 15,000.00. Red Ribbon Week is 1,056.50. DEA TakeBack Days is 1,083.98, and it includes 246.38 of youth bracelets and lollipops. Crisis Intervention Cards is 158.00. FY2025 spending figure matches the books to the cent.

The FY2026 report certifies 5,047.20 across three programs. National Night Out August 2025 is 3,338.64. Red Ribbon Week is 742.50. DEA TakeBack Days is 966.06. FY2026 spending figure matches the books to the cent.

National Night Out

National Night Out 2025 cost the settlement accounts 3,338.64.

The FY2026 report files the evening under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. It says "fun activities and giveaways attract community members creating opportunities to educate." The police Public Safety Materials line paid The Mad Hatters for a balloon artist and a face painter in 2023. Civic Affairs pays it for balloon and face painting at the Fair in the Square. Any Excuse for A Party supplies the Township's kids activities, Fall-O-Ween inflatables and Fair in the Square activities. No listed use covers party activities, balloon art or face painting. Certified party rentals and a balloon artist as prevention.

The 1,500.00 to Any Excuse for A Party was charged 56.53 to one account and 1,443.47 to another. The 56.53 was the exact balance left on the first account after the Herren Talks order was cut by 1,000.00 in April 2025. A 493.71 first aid kit line was moved to a second account the same way. Both older accounts closed at exactly 0.00.

The FY2023 report describes National Night Out as "Tables set up with literature on education awareness and local resources." The only payment is 1,370.00 to Any Excuse for A Party for National Night Out Activities. Civic Affairs Special Events paid the same business 2,325.00 for kids activities at National Night Out in 2019. No purchase of literature appears in the settlement accounts. Certified literature tables. The payee was a party company.

Red Ribbon Week

The settlement account bought 750 suckers, 800 pencils and 750 sunglasses for Red Ribbon Week in 2024, 1,056.50. In 2025 it bought sunglasses described as for the Verona Police Department, 742.50. Both reports certify the purchases under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training. No listed use covers giveaway candy, pencils or sunglasses, and no record produced shows the education delivered with them. Certified suckers, pencils and sunglasses as prevention.

The FY2025 report says funding decisions are made with the Verona Municipal Alliance Committee, the Board of Education and the Police Department "to provide or enhance programming in a way that it not possible through other funding streams." The FY2026 report says it again. The Township's own vendor history shows the Municipal Alliance grant paying for Red Ribbon Week in the same seasons.

Orders 25-01617 and 25-01618 were opened the same day, 09/19/2025, with the same vendor. Check 10183 paid both. Said other funds could not pay. The Alliance grant did.

AwareAwakeAlive

The FY2024 report certifies 400.00 for the AwareAwakeAlive announcement. Check 6894 paid it from the settlement account on 06/17/2024. The FY2025 and FY2026 reports both say "Financial support from opioid settlement funds was not required for FY24 only." The payment fell inside FY2024. Said no settlement money was needed in FY24. It paid 400.00.

The FY2024 report says the program "has been in our Township for years." On 05/20/2024 the Township issued two orders to the same news site in sequence. Order 24-01010, a two week run, went to the VMAC Grant 2023-2024. Order 24-01011, a four week run, went to the settlement account.

DEA Take Back Days

The FY2025 report certifies DEA TakeBack Days at 1,083.98. Positive Promotions order 24-01688 paid for Take Back bags and imprint, 732.50, youth bracelets and lollipops, 246.38, and shipping, 105.10. The report describes the purchase as bags to collect unwanted medication.

The FY2026 report certifies the program again at 966.06, crisis cards, a booklet for grandparents and lanyards. It also updates the FY2025 program at 621.06 for 7/1/2024 to 6/30/2025. The FY2025 report gave 1,083.98 for that period, and the books agree. The 621.06 is the 2026 crisis cards and lanyards, already inside the 966.06. Reported 621.06 for FY2025 take-back. Books show 1,083.98.

The FY2026 block gives a launch date of 10/23/2026, after the year it reports, and 200 people served.

Money on hand

None of the three on-hand figures follows from the report it sits in. Each report gives receipts since 2022 and spending, with nothing transferred, encumbered or spent on administration.

The FY2024 figure is the balance of the three settlement accounts at 06/30/2024. It leaves out 1,329.44 of certified receipts that no account carried. FY2024 on-hand figure left out 1,329.44 of receipts.

The FY2025 figure is more than the report's own receipts less its own spending. New money was added to the accounts on 07/08/2025 and 08/11/2025, after the year closed. FY2025 on-hand figure 1,865.00 above its own numbers.

The FY2026 figure is the balance of two accounts, 14,071.63 and 9,429.02. It leaves out a third settlement account opened 04/30/2026 with 751.80, and 1,782.47 of certified receipts that no account carries. FY2026 on-hand figure 2,534.27 short of its own numbers.

The giveaways

The settlement accounts also bought youth bracelets, youth lollipops, lanyards, first aid kits and kid tattoos from Positive Promotions. The ledger describes the tattoos and first aid kits as anti-opioid. No record shows what the items say or what program used them, so this project classifies them as unverified.

The police Public Safety Materials line buys the same kinds of items from the same vendor. In 2024 it bought glow bracelets, breakaway lanyards, phone stands, bicycle spokes and glow footballs. The settlement account bought youth bracelets the same season.

On 09/18/2026 the main settlement account carried five open orders.

RRW is Red Ribbon Week. VPD is the Verona Police Department. Civic Affairs Special Events paid for Fall-O-Ween in every year from 2021 to 2025. Line 1 of order 26-01564 appears on none of the accounts the Township produced.

What should happen

The amounts are small. The test is what the money buys and whether the reports describe it. The Township can move National Night Out entertainment and police giveaway merchandise back to the budget lines that paid for them before, and spend the settlement money on documented programs that add to what Verona already funds.

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