Toms River MUA Building (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The Toms River Township council on Wednesday night turned down several ordinances aimed at reorganizing township government to bolster the strength of the mayor’s office and dissolve the Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority, handing a defeat to Mayor Daniel Rodrick, who characterized the rejection as a boon for political bosses.
The most significant of the ordinances considered by council was one that would dissolve the MUA and replace it with a traditional sewerage department that would be integrated with the municipal government. As its own agency with the power to hire employees and make appointments, the MUA has attracted criticism for years over accusations of awarding jobs to politically-connected figures and the ability for part-time commissioners to take taxpayer-funded healthcare plans that can cost more than $40,000 annually. Several members of the council said they would be open to the idea of dissolving the agency, but felt it would be rushed to pass an ordinance doing so just days after it first appeared on a meeting agenda.
The other measures up for a vote Wednesday night would have transferred some power away from the township council and into the mayor’s hands, a move which was panned by Rodrick’s critics as being formulated after his allies lost seats in last week’s election, which will cost him a council majority after Jan. 1, 2026. But it was one of Rodrick’s longtime allies, Council President Justin Lamb, who cast the deciding ‘no’ votes on the measures, opining that it would not be ethical for him to cast votes restructuring the municipal government after he was one of the candidates who lost his seat.
In addition to the MUA ordinance, the other ordinances would have enacted changes to the procedures for publishing council meeting agendas, removing the ability of the council to provide advice and consent for certain mayoral appointments, placing the hiring of assistant township attorneys in the hands of the mayor, and redirecting control of the township clerk’s office from the council to the mayor.
The council entered an executive session for about 15 minutes following the official start of the meeting to discuss the matters at hand. The ‘no’ votes a short time later yielded a rebuke of Lamb by Rodrick, who left the meeting early during public comment session. A live streaming feed of the meeting was cut at about the same point. Lamb and his fellow council members continued the meeting after the mayor’s departure.
Lamb gave a similar explanation for his dissent as each ordinance came up for a vote, starting with the ordinances to establish new agenda policies and limit council advice and consent on some mayoral appointments.
“With about seven weeks left, I find it odd that I would vote for something that would tinker with our code,” he said, . “I’m not going to be here in seven weeks, and I don’t think it would be fair for me to vote on that, so I vote ‘no.'”
Likewise, Lamb voted against the other reorganization measures before the MUA dissolution ordinance came up for a vote.
“I’ve railed against all of these authorities; I think they are patronage pits throughout New Jersey, especially the Parking Authority,” he said. “I believe these places are places where we put professionals when we don’t know what to do with them in the township, and we give them another role. There might be some savings, I don’t know what the numbers are – I hear numbers from when Mayor Kelaher looked at this years ago – so I don’t know what the new numbers are, and it feels rushed. For that reason alone, I vote ‘no.'”
Rodrick, a short time later, said the council was “bought and owned” by political interests, and its members “owe their positions to political power brokers.” He turned his attention to Lamb, claiming he voted no because “George told you to vote against it,” referring to Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore.
Rodrick released a statement after the meeting commenting on the reorganization measures, claiming Lamb’s wife was promised a county job and the ability to run for county clerk after Jack Kelly retires, though there was no evidence to support the claim. He zeroed in on the ordinance that would change the manner in which agendas are promulgated.
“Nothing that is on the agenda makes it onto the agenda without authorization of the council president,” Rodrick said. “Council President Lamb’s sudden reversal is a clear indication of a promise made by convict Chairman George Gilmore, who’s [sic] firm is the engineer for the Municipal Utilities Authority. Lamb’s wife was promised a job at the county and she was also promised to be the next Ocean County Clerk when Jack Kelly steps aside. I wonder what George promised Justin?”
He also excoriated his former running mate for “protecting commissioners who receive a $40,000 health insurance policy for going to one 10 minute meeting a month,” referencing the MUA dissolution measure. “The township already manages the stormwater sewers. Residents shouldn’t have to pay outrageous sewer bills to an authority that doesn’t need to exist. Dissolving the MUA would’ve saved taxpayers millions of dollars. It was a sad day for residents.”
