Lower Township
- 01Certified police Camaro lights and camp pay as prevention58,632.88
- 02Certified a paid police car wrap as a camp encumbrance3,795.00
- 03Certified its 2026 appropriation as the money on hand68,187.46
- 04Paid 10,220.00 to wrap and light a police Camaro10,220.00
What the reports say,
and what the books show.
Lower Township has received $160,950.69 in opioid settlement funds and spent $76,162.88 of it. Its largest single year difference between the report and the books is $3,795.00.
The money, four ways.
Four figures describe the same settlement money. Each one comes from a different document.
Certified against the books,
every report year.
Every year this jurisdiction has filed, and the year it has not. The match on each row is computed from the rows, not judged.
filed
- Program name
- Lower Township Healthy Youth Coalition
- Recipient
- Cape Assist
- Amount expended
- $0.00
- Received to date
- $24,995.69
filed
- Programs listed
- none
- Amount expended
- $0.00
- Unspent on hand
- $106,798.80
- Received to date
- $105,004.38
filed
- Program name
- Summer Camp
- Recipient
- Lower Township
- Recipient category
- County or Municipality (including Departments and Municipal Alliances)
- Amount expended
- $13,735.00
- Unspent on hand
- $120,341.77
- Received to date
- $140,949.03
filed
- Program name
- Community Wide Special Events/Summer Camps
- Recipient
- Police and Recreation Departments
- Recipient category
- Community Based Organizations/Non-Governmental Organizations; County or Municipality (including Departments and Municipal Alliances); First Responders, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Services
- Programs listed
- 2
- Amount expended
- $58,632.88
- Unspent on hand
- $68,187.46
- Received to date
- $160,950.69
6 findings.
Every finding is verified to the documents in its own row. An inference is labelled as one.
Red with the marker: a certified figure the books contradict.
The FY2026 report certifies 58,632.88 spent between 07/01/2025 and 06/30/2026 (p1) and puts all of it in one new program, Community Wide Special Events/Summer Camps (pp4 to 6).
It names the Police and Recreation Departments as recipients, files the program under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training, gives its purpose as education and prevention for area youth and residents, and reports 0 individuals served. The books show what the money paid for. The settlement account reimbursed camp payroll to camp salary line 5-01-28-370-168, 24,027.25 on 07/31/2025 and 24,580.63 on 09/30/2025. Birch's Communications purchase order 25-01242, check 7303 of 08/05/2025, paid 6,205.00 for nine lines on a 2011 Camaro. They are 2011 CAMARO - OPIOID PREVENTIO, a siren and light controller, a speaker and bracket, red, white and blue grill lights and micropulse lights, an L bracket, wire leads and a partial install. Cape Island Graphics purchase order 25-01738, check 7258 of the same day, paid 220.00 for LTPD CAMARO STICKERS. Check 252142 of 08/19/2025 paid 3,600.00 described as AQUA PARK 07-29-25. Together they make the certified figure to the cent. The report names camps and events, but 6,425.00 of the figure is emergency lighting, siren equipment and stickers for a Camaro. Lines 10 and 11 of the same Birch's order, 1,297.49, were charged to the Township's Vehicle Purchases line. No prevention program using the car is documented. The camp wages pay Recreation Department camp staff, the aqua park charge sits on the 2025 Summer Program account, and the report counts no one served. Police vehicle equipment and summer camps are not among the uses Exhibit E lists.
program-misclassification · 8 documents · 10/03/2026The FY2025 report certifies 3,795.00 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent in the period 7/1/2024 to 6/30/2025 (p1).
Its one program, Summer Camp, is funded at 17,530.00, with 13,735.00 expended and 3,795.00 encumbered or appropriated (p2). The report says campers were taught Botvin LifeSkills, with Cape Assist providing the program, under Primary Prevention, Education, and Training (pp2 to 4). The 3,795.00 is Copiers Plus purchase order 25-01200, FULL CAR WRAP - 2011 CAMAR0, charged to settlement account 5-01-56-750-354. Check 6585 paid it on 06/03/2025, 27 days before the period closed. It was spent, not encumbered, and it wraps a car, not a camp. The orders open on that account at 06/30/2025 were Birch's Communications purchase order 25-01242, 6,205.00 of lights, siren equipment and install for the same 2011 Camaro, and Cape Island Graphics purchase order 25-01738, 220.00 of LTPD Camaro stickers. The report certifies neither. The 13,735.00 expended is camp payroll to the cent. Every payroll check behind it is dated from 03/27/2025 to 06/19/2025, before the program launch date the report gives, 06/23/2025. No payment to Cape Assist appears on the settlement accounts.
fake-encumbrance · 7 documents · 10/03/2026The FY2026 report certifies 68,187.46 of unspent and uncommitted settlement funds currently on hand (p2, question 9) and 0.00 appropriated or encumbered but not yet spent (p2, question 7).
68,187.46 is the Township's 2026 appropriation of settlement money. The grant audit trail for account G-02-40-300-404, Opioid Settlement, budget year 2026, printed 08/31/2026, shows Orig Grant 68,187.46 and Curr Budgeted 68,187.46, with nothing expended or encumbered. The report gives the appropriation as the money on hand and gives no appropriation where question 7 asks for one. Its own figures leave more. Question 3 certifies 160,950.69 received since 2022. The four reports certify 76,162.88 spent or encumbered, 13,735.00 and 3,795.00 in FY2025 and 58,632.88 in FY2026, the same total the settlement accounts show paid. That leaves 84,787.81. Account 5-01-56-750-785 prints a further 5,915.00 expended with no transaction detail produced. Counting it too, 78,872.81 remains. No entry on any produced settlement account is dated after 09/30/2025.
unspent-misstated · 7 documents · 10/03/2026Settlement account 5-01-56-750-354, Grant Expend - Opioid Settlement, prints 10,220.00 expended through 08/31/2026.
All of it went to one 2011 Camaro. Copiers Plus purchase order 25-01200, FULL CAR WRAP - 2011 CAMAR0, 3,795.00, check 6585 of 06/03/2025. Birch's Communications purchase order 25-01242, 6,205.00, check 7303 of 08/05/2025, for 2011 CAMARO - OPIOID PREVENTIO, a siren and light controller, a speaker and bracket, red, white and blue grill and micropulse lights, an L bracket, wire leads and a partial install. Cape Island Graphics purchase order 25-01738, LTPD CAMARO STICKERS, 220.00, check 7258 of 08/05/2025. Birch's history with the Township from 05/28/2021 is police and public works vehicle work, among it patrol unit outfitting, light bars, sirens, radios and weapons mounts. The wrap is the only purchase in the Copiers Plus history from 2020 to 2026 that is not copier or duplicator service, supplies or equipment. The FY2025 report certifies the wrap inside its Summer Camp program. The FY2026 report certifies the rest inside Community Wide Special Events/Summer Camps and names the Police Department as a recipient. No prevention program using the car is documented. Police vehicle equipment is not among the uses Exhibit E lists.
non-conforming-spending · 7 documents · 10/03/2026Camp salary line 5-01-28-370-168, Regular Salaries - Camp Employees, Recreation Department, prints for 2025 an adopted budget of 0.00, 62,342.88 expended and 62,342.88 reimbursed.
Every reimbursement came from the settlement. Settlement account 5-01-56-750-404 prints 62,342.88 expended, the same figure. Payroll checks of 03/27, 04/10 and 04/24/2025, 4,975.00, were reimbursed on 04/30/2025 as SUMMER CAMP RESERVE REIM. That is the 38,543.26 journal 5914 moved under Resolution 2025-126 less the 33,568.26 journal 5947 returned. The later reimbursements are captioned as opioid reimbursements of camp salaries for May, June, July and August and September. Resolution 2025-126, adopted 03/17/2025, says the Recreation Department submitted a budget for the newly established Summer Camp and that the program will be self-funded through fees set by Ordinance 25-09 and settlement reserve funds. It describes no prevention content. The FY2025 report certifies 13,735.00 of this payroll as its Summer Camp program and says Cape Assist provided Botvin LifeSkills to campers. Every payroll check behind that figure is dated before the launch date it gives, 06/23/2025, and no payment to Cape Assist appears on the settlement accounts. The FY2026 report certifies the other 48,607.88 inside Community Wide Special Events/Summer Camps and counts 0 individuals served. No prevention program paid for by these wages is documented. A summer camp is not among the uses Exhibit E lists.
non-conforming-spending · 8 documents · 10/03/2026Birch's Communications purchase order 25-01242, invoice 421417, paid by one check, 7303, on 08/05/2025, has eleven lines for one 2011 Camaro.
Lines 1 to 9, 6,205.00, were charged to settlement account 5-01-56-750-354. Lines 10 and 11, a partial install for 1,147.49 and wire, loom and circuit breakers for 150.00, were charged to the Township's Vehicle Purchases line, 5-01-25-240-255. Check 7258, the same day, paid Cape Island Graphics 105.00 to partially reletter car 126 from the Vehicle Repairs - Insured line and 220.00 for LTPD Camaro stickers from the settlement account. Copiers Plus wrapped the same car for 3,795.00 from the settlement account. The vendor histories show the same kind of work on the Township's own lines before any settlement money paid for it. Birch's outfitted 4 new patrol units for 35,959.08 on Vehicle Purchases under a 2023 order and 2 new patrol vehicles for 35,673.16 on capital police vehicle and equipment lines under a 2024 order. Cape Island Graphics did PD graphics for 5 Tahoes for 2,300.00 on Vehicle Purchases in 2023 and for an F-250 for 379.00 under a 2024 order. Police vehicle outfitting and lettering is a recurring cost the Township carries in its own budget. That the settlement money took over part of that cost is this project's inference from these records.
supplantation · 4 documents · 10/03/2026Patterns this jurisdiction appears in: Funding-source substitution · Fake encumbrances · Police vehicles and gear
The ledger, as printed.
Account 5-01-56-750-354, as printed from the jurisdiction's own accounting system. Classification follows the Exhibit E gates.
| Date | Check | PO | Payee and description | Amount | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/05/2025 | 25-00343 CK 5929 LEAD EXPEND | 4,200.00 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 02/05/2025 | REVERSE DBL POST 25-00343 CK 5929 LEAD | -4,200.00 | Reversal · Unverified | ||
| 03/18/2025 | SET UP CAMP RESERVE PER RES 25-126 | 38,543.26 | Transfer out · Non-conforming | ||
| 04/30/2025 | RETURN BALANCE TO FS GRANT FUND | -33,568.26 | Reversal · Non-conforming | ||
| 05/14/2025 | Reimbursement OPIOID | 2,323.75 | Journal · Receipt | ||
| 05/14/2025 | Reimbursement REVERSE TO GL POST OPIOD $ RECD | 2,323.75 | Journal · Receipt | ||
| 05/31/2025 | MAY SUMMER CAMP S&W | 3,562.50 | Paid · Non-conforming | ||
| 06/03/2025 | 6585 | 25-01200 | COPIERS PLUS · FULL CAR WRAP - 2011 CAMARO | 3,795.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 06/17/2025 | REVERSE PRIOR AND RE POST PER PAY | -5,875.00 | Reversal · Non-conforming | ||
| 06/17/2025 | POST SUMMER CAMP SALARIES 5/8,5/22,6/5 | 5,875.00 | Paid · Non-conforming | ||
| 06/23/2025 | SUMMER CAMP S&W 6/5/25 | 2,312.50 | Paid · Non-conforming | ||
| 06/23/2025 | SUMMER CAMP S&W 6/19/25 | 2,885.00 | Paid · Non-conforming | ||
| 07/31/2025 | JULY CAMP S&W EXPEND | 24,027.25 | Paid · Non-conforming | ||
| 08/05/2025 | 7258 | 25-01738 | CAPE ISLAND GRAPHICS · LTPD CAMARO STICKERS | 220.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · 2011 CAMARO - OPIOID PREVENTIO | 2,956.65 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · FS- SIREN / LIGHT CONTROLER | 566.37 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · SPEAKER | 234.60 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · UNIVERSAL SPEAKER BRACKET | 42.99 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · GRILL LIGHTS RED/WHT/BLU | 288.54 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · L BRACKET | 35.98 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · MICROPULSE LIGHTS RED/WHT/BLU | 288.54 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · DUAL EXTREME - WIRE LEADS | 638.17 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/05/2025 | 7303 | 25-01242 | BIRCH'S COMMUNICATIONS LLC · PARTIAL INSTALL | 1,153.16 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 08/19/2025 | 252142 | 25-02142 | LOWER TOWNSHIP · AQUA PARK 07-29-25 | 3,600.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 09/30/2025 | OPIOID REIM CAMP AUG/SEPT | 24,580.63 | Paid · Non-conforming | ||
| Total paid | 81,262.88 | ||||
| Conforming abatement spending | 0.00 |
Vendors, and what paid them before.
What fund carried each payee before the opioid account, and how large the opioid slice is against the whole relationship. Bars share one scale.
Full width is $6,205.00, the largest payee total. Solid is the opioid account. Hatched is every other fund.
All documents are public records produced by the jurisdiction. Titles are the documents' own.
No dated event is published for this jurisdiction yet.
No correction received from this jurisdiction. If a figure on this page is wrong, send the record that shows it. The response is published here word for word.
Correct the recordCan opioid settlement money be spent on police cars or license plate readers?
No. Exhibit E of the national settlement lists the approved uses: treatment, recovery, prevention, harm reduction and related supports. Vehicles and surveillance hardware are not among the uses it lists, and state law bars using the funds to replace money a town would otherwise have spent.The approved uses
What did Lower Township tell the State it spent the money on?
It certified 4 programs to the Department of Human Services. Each program, its recipient and its amount are reproduced above, beside the payments in the account.See the reports
How was this grade computed?
By code, from a published rubric: reporting integrity 50 percent, spending conformity 40 percent, transparency 10 percent, with hard caps for a certified program that has no payee in the books, for an uncertified transfer out, and for a records refusal.The rubric
Articles about this town
Lower Township
Lower Township spent its opioid settlement money on a police Camaro and a summer camp payroll, and certified both to the State as prevention programs in figures that equal those payments to the cent.