Brickbat: Saturday in the Park

Irvington Township, New Jersey, misspent $632,000 in opioid settlement funds on two "Opioid Awareness" concerts in 2023 and 2024, according to an Office of the State Comptroller report, with $368,500 improperly awarded to businesses owned by the family of a township employee who was tasked with securing musical talent. The township held the events without consulting health experts or residents. It claimed Narcan was distributed at the events, but the report found no settlement funds were used to purchase Narcan, and the township provided no evidence of substantive opioid education. At the same time, officials spent money on luxury trailers and cotton candy machines, and more than $205,000 just on promotion. The comptroller criticized the lack of competitive bidding for contracts and noted the township's attempt to block the report's release through a defamation lawsuit, which was dismissed by the state Supreme Court.