Toms River Police Department vehicle (Photo: TRPD)
Wednesday night’s meeting of the Toms River township council produced its usual rounds of political fireworks mere minutes after being called to order, but a fracas after the council introduced a police staffing ordinance led Council President David Ciccozzi to call a 10 minute recess to keep the room from boiling over.
The council, in a 4-3 vote, introduced an ordinance that would mandate certain staffing levels in the police department, with its text claiming Mayor Daniel Rodrick had allowed the department to fall below a level deemed “lean and efficient” in a 2021 study. Rodrick, however, said the council is precluded by law from forcing the mayor to hire more officers, and added that the ordinance was aimed at adding more highly-paid supervisors versus patrolmen. Council members, however, said the ordinance was squarely aimed at adding more “boots on the ground.”
The ordinance, which is subject to a public hearing and second vote prior to final adoption, would require the township to staff 162 sworn officers at a given time. Of those 162 officers, the ordinance would require one chief, three captains or deputy chiefs, seven lieutenants, 20 sergeants, 16 detectives, two traffic safety officers, and 113 patrol officers. The ordinance held that, at its maximum, the department was staffed with 163 sworn officers and had fallen to a roster of 146 by “late 2025.”
“We’re asking for more manpower in terms of boots on the ground,” said Councilman Robert Bianchini. “We want to get the police department to up the staff to its full potential.”
Rodrick, however, said the ordinance was not legal, and his administration was already working to hire new patrol officers.
“You can’t force me to hire people,” he said, reiterating his belief that the ordinance was aimed at hiring additional supervisors. “It’s against the Faulkner Act. It’s not legal.”
Rodrick said his administration was seeking to fill 10 vacancies of patrol of officers and had already decided to hire about five following a series of interviews.
“The patrol spots are being filled, but it doesn’t mean you have a right to mandate a certain number of captains or anybody else,” Rodrick said. “We’ve been down this road before. It mandates more captains, it mandates more lieutenants, it mandates more people at the top.”
Before the 4-3 vote, Ciccozzi declined to hear an opinion on the matter from the township’s legal counsel, sparking a debate that continued after the roll had been taken. Ciccozzi, along with members Thomas Nivison, Clinton Bradley, and Bianchini, voted in favor of the ordinance. The three council members aligned with the mayor, Harry Aber, Craig Coleman, and Lynn O’Toole, voted against its introduction.
The debate that had been sparked earlier continued after the vote, with a member of the audience shouting expletives from the seating area. That led to a ruckus on the dais and a response from Rodrick, with Ciccozzi ultimately calling for a 10 minute recess to provide a cooling-off period.
The ordinance was introduced, though it is subject to a veto by Rodrick should it be formally adopted at the next council meeting. In addition to setting minimum staffing levels, the ordinance would compel the administration to “take all necessary steps” to hire or promote officers if any rank category falls below its minimums. The mandated staffing level would have to be met within 90 days, and the municipal budget would be required to include an appropriation each year that would provide for the minimum number of officers in each rank.
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