Lakewood Township
- 01Paid 816,392.00 in opioid grants with no program named816,392.00
- 02A private school's first Township money was opioid money314,000.00
- 03A housing contractor since 2018 got 130,000.00 of it130,000.00
- 04The 2024 community services grant came from the opioid fund172,392.00
What the reports say,
and what the books show.
Lakewood Township has received $1,162,418.31 in opioid settlement funds and spent $1,165,970.15 of it.
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
- Programs listed
- none
- Amount expended
- $0.00
- Received to date
- $308,733.73
filed
- Programs listed
- none
- Amount expended
- $0.00
- Unspent on hand
- $1,145,926.24
- Received to date
- $934,876.01
filed
- Programs listed
- none
- Amount expended
- $0.00
- Unspent on hand
- $1,145,926.24
- Received to date
- $1,162,418.31
14 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.
Between 07/11/2025 and 11/14/2025 the Township paid 816,392.00 from its opioid accounts to four outside organizations.
Shalva High School received 120,000.00 on check 75508 on 07/11/2025 and 194,000.00 on check 77356 on 11/14/2025. Lakewood Community Services received 172,392.00 on check 75678 on 07/25/2025. NJ Rising Stars, Inc. received 200,000.00 in two lines of purchase order 25005356 on check 75928 on 08/08/2025. S.T.E.P.S. (Solutions To End) received 130,000.00 on check 76216 on 08/22/2025. A further 250,000.00 to Lakewood Community Services, purchase order 25006947, was entered on 10/10/2025 and was still open on 08/28/2026. Every line reads OPIOID GRANT FOR 2024 SERVICES or OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES and nothing more. No grant agreement, scope of services, application or report from any of the four has been produced. The Township told the State in its FY2024 and FY2025 reports that it funded no programs with the money. Those two reports cover the years before the first grant check. Every one of these payments falls in the FY2026 reporting year, 07/01/2025 to 06/30/2026. The State's FY2026 report file, published 10/01/2026, prints No Report Received for the Township.
undocumented-spending · 6 documents · 10/03/2026The Township's purchase order history for vendor SHA53 Shalva High School, run from 01/01/18 to 08/28/26, holds two purchase orders and nothing else.
Purchase order 25004630, dated 07/08/2025, is 120,000.00 and reads OPIOID GRANT FOR 2024 SERVICES in the header. The audit trail line for the same purchase order reads OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES. Purchase order 25007592, dated 11/03/2025, is 194,000.00 and reads OPIOD GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES. The grand total is 314,000.00. In more than eight years of Township purchasing the school received no money until the opioid settlement fund paid it. The first payment came from account G-02-64-771-001-211 and the second from account G-02-66-000-000-017. This project searched the Township Committee agenda packages for 2024 and 2025 and found no resolution naming the school.
vendor-baseline · 2 documents · 09/23/2026The Township's purchase order history for vendor STE29 S.T.E.P.S. (Solutions To End), run from 01/01/18 to 08/28/26, lists 74 purchase orders with a grand total of 5,206,940.99 and 61,286.02 void.
The descriptions are fair housing payments, rental and affordable housing work, back rent, office rent, Code Blue and COVID recovery money. One purchase order names opioids. Purchase order 25005711, dated 08/14/2025, reads OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES at 130,000.00, and the opioid account paid it on check 76216 on 08/22/2025. The quarterly fair housing payments of 30,000.00 run on either side of it, on 08/01/2025 and 10/09/2025. The Township's 2025 budget carries the same organization as Solutions to End Poverty on Community Services Act line 27-332, appropriated 120,000.00 for 2024, with nothing in the Paid or Charged column and 120,000.00 in the Reserved column.
existing-program-funded · 3 documents · 09/23/2026The Township paid Lakewood Community Services a yearly general services grant.
Its purchase order history for vendor LAK46 shows 50,000.00 for social support services in 2018 and 2019, 2020 social services 50,000.00, 2021 services 50,000.00, 2022 services 50,000.00, 2023 services 50,000.00 and 2025 services 32,679.23. There is no 2024 services purchase order. The opioid account paid purchase order 25004852, OPIOID GRANT FOR 2024 SERVICES, 172,392.00, to Lakewood Community Services on check 75678 on 07/25/2025, under vendor code LCS01. The Township's 2025 budget shows Community Services Act line 27-334 Lakewood Community Services Corp. appropriated 50,000.00 for 2024, with nothing in the Paid or Charged column and 50,000.00 in the Reserved column. On these records the Township's 2024 grant to this organization was paid from settlement money instead of the general fund line that carried it in earlier years. This is an inference. The history produced is for vendor code LAK46 and does not show the opioid purchase orders, which sit under code LCS01, and the Township answered that no records exist for account 27-334.
supplantation · 3 documents · 09/23/2026The Township's purchase order history for vendor NJS24 NJ Rising Stars, Inc. shows purchase order 25003680, UEZ PROJECT 2022-08014-2049, 250,000.00, dated 05/30/2025 and still OPEN on 08/28/2026.
On 08/04/2025 the Township opened purchase order 25005356 for 200,000.00, described in the history as 2024 SERVICES. The opioid account paid it on check 75928 on 08/08/2025 in two lines of 100,000.00, one for OPIOID GRANT FOR 2024 SERVICES and one for OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES. Half of the grant pays for a service year that had already ended. In November 2025 the Township added 3,500.00 of CDBG public service money for the same organization. No purchase order in the history names a substance use service.
existing-program-funded · 2 documents · 09/23/2026The opioid accounts paid Pellegrino Chevrolet 60,216.30 for a POLICE K-9 VEH 2026 PATROL PPV on check 78595 on 02/06/2026, from account G-02-66-000-000-017.
No overdose, diversion or other abatement program using the vehicle is documented. The Township named no program for it in the ledger or in any Committee resolution this project found. Police patrol vehicles are not among the uses Exhibit E lists.
non-conforming-spending · 2 documents · 09/23/2026The opioid accounts paid Winner Ford 55,388.20 for a 2026 Ford Transit Van 250 and 59,422.50 for a 2026 Ford Transit 350, both on check 77776 on 12/05/2025.
They paid Pellegrino Chevrolet 60,216.30 for a POLICE K-9 VEH 2026 PATROL PPV on check 78595 on 02/06/2026, and Elite Vehicle Solutions 14,133.82 for a passenger van uplift on check 78484 on 02/06/2026. The four payments total 189,160.82. Purchase order 26000663 to Elite Vehicle Solutions, a 2025 Ford Transit upfit, holds 54,397.55 on account G-02-66-000-000-017 and 5,102.45 on account G-02-66-000-000-010, both still open on 08/28/2026. Vehicles are not an Exhibit E use.
non-conforming-spending · 4 documents · 09/23/2026The opioid accounts paid Winner Ford 55,388.20 for a 2026 Ford Transit Van 250 and 59,422.50 for a 2026 Ford Transit 350, both on check 77776 on 12/05/2025.
They paid Elite Vehicle Solutions 14,133.82 for a passenger van uplift on check 78484 on 02/06/2026. The three payments total 128,944.52. Purchase order 26000663 to Elite Vehicle Solutions, a 2025 Ford Transit upfit, holds 54,397.55 on account G-02-66-000-000-017 and 5,102.45 on account G-02-66-000-000-010, both still open on 08/28/2026. The vans are not patrol vehicles. No record produced shows which department uses them or for what. A van dedicated to a documented mobile outreach or harm reduction program could be an abatement use. This project classifies the vans as unverified until the Township documents their purpose.
undocumented-spending · 3 documents · 09/23/2026The opioid accounts paid SHI International Corp 48,000.00 on check 78618 on 02/06/2026 for a DJI Dock 3 set at 24,000.00, an add-on drone at 12,000.00 and an add-on docking station at 12,000.00.
They paid SHI International Corp 25,589.67 for Paladin Drones Inc quote 26910213 on check 79410 on 03/27/2026. The drone purchases total 73,589.67. On 07/17/2026 account G-02-66-000-000-010 paid Versaterm Public Safety US Inc 16,770.00 for Mindbase software on check 80945. The Paladin payment and the Mindbase payment sit in accounts the ledger groups under department CY25 Municipal Court Alcohol Ed. Together the purchases total 90,359.67. No abatement program using the drones or the software is documented. Drones and police records software are not among the uses Exhibit E lists.
non-conforming-spending · 4 documents · 09/23/2026From 10/24/2025 through 08/28/2026 account G-02-64-771-001-211 carries 23 biweekly journal entries described only as Payroll of the pay date, References 4292 through 4414, all posted by the same user.
Most are 2,861.11 or 2,884.62. They total 67,340.90 and were still running on the last date produced. No entry names an employee, a title or a program. The Township was asked for the payee and title of these journals and has not produced them.
undocumented-spending · 3 documents · 09/23/2026The FY2024 and FY2025 reports both certify 1,145,926.24 as unspent opioid money on hand.
That figure is the Township's 2024 budget appropriation for the fund. The 2025 budget shows National Opioid Settlement Fund revenue line 10-860 and appropriation line 41-860 at 1,145,926.24 for 2024, and account G-02-64-771-001-211 carries 1,145,926.24 as its adopted and modified budget. In FY2024 the certified amount on hand is 211,050.23 more than the 934,876.01 the same report certifies as received since 2022. In FY2025 the report certifies 1,162,418.31 received and 0.00 expended, which leaves 16,492.07 that the 1,145,926.24 on hand does not account for.
unspent-misstated · 4 documents · 09/23/2026The only budget authority for the settlement money is a lump appropriation.
The 2025 budget carries line 41-860 National Opioid Settlement Fund at 1,145,926.24 for 2024 and 38,723.03 for 2025, under Public and Private Programs Offset by Revenues. No grantee, program or use is named. This project searched the agenda packages for every Township Committee meeting in 2024 and 2025, including the 01/02/2025 reorganization meeting and the 01/31/2025 special meeting, and found no resolution awarding money to Shalva High School, NJ Rising Stars, Inc., S.T.E.P.S. or Lakewood Community Services and no use of the word opioid. The agenda package for 10/23/2025 is one of those searched. The meetings approve bills by a motion to approve the bill list, and the Township has not produced the bill lists.
authorization-gap · 2 documents · 09/23/2026The FY2025 report asks how the Township decided the best way to use the money.
The answer reads That is a very interesting question worthy of further review. Asked to describe its public engagement, the report answers I don't know. I am just a book keeper that works in an office all day and is not exposed to the public. The same report answers No to having a strategic plan, No to a risk assessment and No to funding any new programs. The FY2024 report answers no comment to the questions on goals, the basis for spending decisions and public engagement.
report-disclosure · 2 documents · 09/23/2026Between 03/21/2025 and 04/11/2025 five checks were paid from account G-02-64-771-001-211.
B and H Photo received 9,635.20 for assorted equipment on check 73589 and 4,457.66 for multi camera equipment on check 73904. A police officer received 150.00 for gift card reimbursements on check 74108, and two wellness week food reimbursements of 373.95 and 61.49 went out on checks 73979 and 74147. They total 14,678.30. Journal References 4202 and 4203 credited each one back to the opioid account as MISPOSTED S/B 50125240240211, and the same five amounts appear under References 4202 and 4203 on account 5-01-25-240-240-211 Police Dept. Miscellaneous. The opioid account nets to 0.00 for FY2025, so the certified 0.00 expended for that year is accurate.
reversal · 3 documents · 09/23/2026Patterns this jurisdiction appears in: Funding-source substitution · Police vehicles and gear · Surveillance technology
The ledger, as printed.
Account G-02-64-771-001-211, as printed from the jurisdiction's own accounting system. Classification follows the Exhibit E gates.
| Date | Check | PO | Payee and description | Amount | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/17/2025 | MISPOSTED S/B 50125240240211 | -9,635.20 | Reversal · Non-conforming | ||
| 03/21/2025 | 73589 | 25001625 | B & H PHOTO · ASSORTD EQUIP QUOTE#:910455888 | 9,635.20 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 04/11/2025 | 73904 | 25002253 | B & H PHOTO · MULTI CAMERA EQUIPMENT | 4,457.66 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 04/11/2025 | 73979 | 25002204 | ALEX GUZMAN · REIMBURSEMNT WELLNESS WK FOOD | 373.95 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 04/11/2025 | 74108 | 25002117 | PTL JOSEPH M. SANDSTROM · GIFT CARD REIMBURSEMENTS | 150.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 04/11/2025 | 74147 | 25002247 | CHRISTINA VEGA · WELLNESS WEEK REIMBURSEMENT | 61.49 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 04/11/2025 | MISPOSTED S/B 50125240240211 | -373.95 | Reversal · Non-conforming | ||
| 04/11/2025 | MISPOSTED S/B 50125240240211 | -61.49 | Reversal · Non-conforming | ||
| 04/11/2025 | MISPOSTED S/B 50125240240211 | -4,457.66 | Reversal · Non-conforming | ||
| 04/11/2025 | MISPOSTED S/B 50125240240211 | -150.00 | Reversal · Non-conforming | ||
| 07/11/2025 | 75508 | 25004630 | SHALVA HIGH SCHOOL · OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES | 120,000.00 | Paid · Unverified |
| 07/25/2025 | 75678 | 25004852 | LAKEWOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES · OPIOID GRANT FOR 2024 SERVICES | 172,392.00 | Paid · Unverified |
| 08/08/2025 | 75928 | 25005356 | NJ Rising Stars, Inc. · OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES | 100,000.00 | Paid · Unverified |
| 08/08/2025 | 75928 | 25005356 | NJ Rising Stars, Inc. · OPIOID GRANT FOR 2024 SERVICES | 100,000.00 | Paid · Unverified |
| 08/22/2025 | 76216 | 25005711 | S.T.E.P.S (SOLUTIONS TO END) · OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES | 130,000.00 | Paid · Unverified |
| 10/10/2025 | open | 25006947 | LAKEWOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES · OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES | 250,000.00 | Open encumbrance · Unverified |
| 10/24/2025 | Payroll of 10/24/2025 | 2,884.62 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 11/07/2025 | Payroll of 11/07/2025 | 2,884.62 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 11/14/2025 | 77138 | 25007679 | B P PRINT GROUP · Opioid Resource Hand Out | 214.16 | Paid · Conforming |
| 11/14/2025 | 77356 | 25007592 | SHALVA HIGH SCHOOL · OPIOID GRANT FOR 2025 SERVICES | 194,000.00 | Paid · Unverified |
| 11/21/2025 | Payroll of 11/21/2025 | 2,884.62 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 12/05/2025 | 77574 | 25006435 | INNOCORP, LTD. · FATAL VISION ROADSTER PEDAL | 2,100.00 | Paid · Conforming |
| 12/05/2025 | 77574 | 25006435 | INNOCORP, LTD. · FREIGHT | 402.60 | Paid · Conforming |
| 12/05/2025 | 77776 | 25004938 | WINNER FORD · 2026 FORD TRANSIT VAN 250 | 55,388.20 | Paid · Unverified |
| 12/05/2025 | 77776 | 25004939 | WINNER FORD · 2026 FORD TRANSIT 350 | 59,422.50 | Paid · Unverified |
| 12/05/2025 | Payroll of 12/05/2025 | 3,317.31 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 12/19/2025 | Payroll of 12/19/2025 | 2,884.62 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 01/02/2026 | Payroll of 01/02/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 01/16/2026 | Payroll of 01/16/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 01/26/2026 | open | 26000663 | ELITE VEHICLE SOLUTIONS · 2025 FORD TRANSIT UPFIT | 5,102.45 | Open encumbrance · Unverified |
| 01/26/2026 | open | 26000663 | ELITE VEHICLE SOLUTIONS · (no description printed) | 54,397.55 | Open encumbrance · Unverified |
| 01/30/2026 | Payroll of 01/30/2026 | 3,139.66 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 02/06/2026 | 78484 | 25007993 | ELITE VEHICLE SOLUTIONS · PASSENGER VAN UPLIFT | 14,133.82 | Paid · Unverified |
| 02/06/2026 | 78595 | 26000749 | PELLEGRINO CHEVROLET · POLICE K-9 VEH 2026 PATROL PPV | 60,216.30 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 02/06/2026 | 78618 | 25006039 | SHI INTERNATIONAL CORP · DJI DOCK 3 SET | 24,000.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 02/06/2026 | 78618 | 25006039 | SHI INTERNATIONAL CORP · ADD-ON DRONE | 12,000.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 02/06/2026 | 78618 | 25006039 | SHI INTERNATIONAL CORP · ADD-ON DOCKING STATION | 12,000.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 02/13/2026 | Payroll of 02/13/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 02/27/2026 | Payroll of 02/27/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 03/13/2026 | Payroll of 03/13/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 03/27/2026 | 79410 | 26001632 | SHI INTERNATIONAL CORP · PALADIN DRONES INC QT:26910213 | 25,589.67 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 03/27/2026 | Payroll of 03/27/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 04/10/2026 | Payroll of 04/10/2026 | 2,954.89 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 04/24/2026 | Payroll of 04/24/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 05/08/2026 | Payroll of 05/08/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 05/22/2026 | Payroll of 05/22/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 06/05/2026 | Payroll of 06/05/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 06/18/2026 | Payroll of 06/18/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 07/02/2026 | Payroll of 07/02/2026 | 3,139.66 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 07/17/2026 | 80945 | 25006830 | VERSATERM PUBLIC SAFETY US INC · MINDBASE SOFTWARE | 16,770.00 | Paid · Non-conforming |
| 07/17/2026 | Payroll of 07/17/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 07/31/2026 | Payroll of 07/31/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 08/14/2026 | Payroll of 08/14/2026 | 2,861.11 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| 08/28/2026 | Payroll of 08/28/2026 | 3,195.36 | Paid · Unverified | ||
| Total paid | 1,180,648.45 | ||||
| Conforming abatement spending | 2,716.76 |
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 $314,000.00, 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 Lakewood Township tell the State it spent the money on?
No certified program is published for this jurisdiction yet. When a report is captured, each program appears here 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
Lakewood Township
Lakewood Township paid 1,165,970.15 from its opioid settlement accounts through 08/28/2026. 816,392.00 went to four outside organizations as opioid grants with no program named. 150,575.97 bought a police K-9 vehicle, drones and records software, and 128,944.52 bought vans with no assignment on record. 2,716.76 went to a listed use.