A New Jersey township once hit hard by the opioid epidemic reportedly used more than $170,000 in settlement money meant to combat addiction to buy police SUVs and high-tech surveillance equipment.
Washington Township reported spending $170,446 on substance-abuse programs during 2024 and 2025. However, an NJ.com investigation found that the funds went toward 15 Flock surveillance cameras and two 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicles.
“That’s absolutely egregious,” Sandy Gibson, an addiction specialist at The College of New Jersey, told NJ.com.
“But I would hold the state accountable. We’re not auditing?”
Town records also indicate that none of the settlement money was directed toward drug-abuse prevention programs in schools, despite that being one of the stated purposes of the funding.
The spending has become part of a broader concern across New Jersey. According to the NJ.com investigation, dozens of municipalities have used at least $2.3 million in opioid settlement funds on items including concerts, branded apparel and even a muscle car.
The payments began reaching local governments in 2022, after pharmaceutical companies agreed to settlements exceeding $50 billion to resolve thousands of lawsuits connected to the opioid crisis and the pharmaceutical supply chain. The funds were intended to help communities recover from the epidemic’s devastating impact.
Instead of focusing exclusively on education, prevention and addiction treatment, some New Jersey towns used the money for road upgrades, new lighting and other municipal purchases.
Matthew Thomas Rooney, Washington Township’s solicitor, attributed the disputed spending to the previous administration.
“The current administration is committed to transparency, and it will continue to review all budgeting priorities, including the best ways to help combat the opioid crisis … and will continue to work with the state on the best path forward,” Rooney said in a statement to the publication.
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“Nothing is more important to the current administration than keeping the people of Washington Township safe.”
Washington Township ranked in the worst 30% of New Jersey municipalities for per-capita addiction rates during the height of the opioid crisis. The township recorded 5.78 cases per 1,000 residents in 2019 and 5.36 cases per 1,000 people in 2021.
Gibson said the township’s apparent lack of action was deeply troubling.
“I can’t see how there’s been no response or action taken to address that,” Gibson told NJ.com.
“Inaction at the level of the state is permission.”
Town officials said $134,321 went toward a middle school “narcotics and education” initiative in 2024, while an additional $36,125 was set aside in 2025 for “early prevention.”
“These folks … they’re responsible for our tax dollars,” resident Joe Junfola said.
“To the extent that they get grants, such as the opioid funds, they’re tasked with using that money responsibly.”
Former Mayor Laurie Burns, a Democrat, accused the township’s current Republican officials of politicizing the issue and attempting to distance themselves from the controversial spending.
“It’s a joke that the Washington Township’s Republican Mayor and Council would now try to wash their hands of decisions they made and point the finger elsewhere,” Burns wrote in an email.
“They did it, and they have a responsibility to answer for it now.”
