Changing Toms River Police Hiring Guidelines 'A Serious Risk,' Prosecutor Says; Mayor Calls Him A Hypocrite

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Township Council is scheduled to vote on an ordinance Wednesday afternoon that will alter the guidelines for hiring police officers in the township — a measure Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer says will undermine public safety.

Mayor Daniel Rodrick in a statement called Billhimer "a far-left liberal hypocrite" and said the prosecutor's office has similar standards to what he wants to implement.

The council also is scheduled to vote on a resolution that will appoint Capt. Guy Maire as the department's new chief of police, replacing Peter Sundack, who sources have said has been on medical leave.

The ordinance, introduced at the June 30 meeting, is set for a public hearing and final vote at the 4 p.m. council meeting, in the L. Manuel Hirshblond Meeting Room on the second floor of town hall, 33 Washington St.

Rodrick has said the changes aim to help address the need to hire police officers for the township, where the roster of sworn officers has dipped to 148, the lowest in 21 years. Read more: Toms River Police Staffing Hits A 21-Year Low As Mayor Touts Flat Taxes

From January 2024, when Rodrick took office, through June 2025, 12 officers had retired, six of them in 2024. Three more have retired since mid-June. There have been five officers hired since January 2024: three in November, one in January and one in February, according the official Toms River Township employee roster obtained via an Open Public Records Act request.

Sundack, as acting police chief, sent an email in late April to Rodrick and Business Administrator Jonathan Salonis (a copy of which was obtained by Patch), expressing concern about the administration's response to his requests to hire officers, calling them "critical vacancies."

"This continued attrition, without appropriate action to replace departing personnel, significantly undermines our department's ability to fulfill its mission — to protect and serve the citizens of Toms River with the highest standards of professionalism and efficiency," Sundack wrote.

Rodrick has said the police department's hiring rules supported nepotism, and that the rules made it more difficult to hire officers to replace those who are retiring, saying they prevent the township from hiring new officers before an officer has officially retired.

There is a provision in the existing police department ordinance, section 50-5, that would allow the police chief to hire probationary police officers "when necessary and in sufficient numbers ... to cover the transitional period caused by pending retirements of regular police officers" with the approval of the township council.

Billhimer, in a letter to Rodrick and the Township Council, criticized the pending ordinance changes, which would eliminate the requirement for officers to having earned a bachelor's degree or, as an option, 64 college credits combined with two years of police service or two years of full-time active duty military experience.

That requirement would be changed to having earned an associate's degree or having 60 college credits, or two years of experience "in any branch of the United States Military."

It also would require passage of a written exam approved by the police chief and the business administrator, with the business administrator replacing the township council's approval.

Interviews of police officer candidates would be conducted by the police chief, mayor, and business administrator, instead of members of the police department's command staff, under the new ordinance.

Other requirements, including passing physical and swimming tests and a psychological exam, would remain in place.

"I applaud your desire to recruit more veterans to serve as Township police officers. I also share your concern for the dwindling number of applicants for law enforcement positions, as many other jurisdictions are facing similar circumstances," Billhimer wrote. "Any attempt to diminish the standards for hiring within the Toms River Township Police Department will only serve to compound the problem. I firmly believe that reducing education requirements for sworn law enforcement officers poses a serious risk to public safety, community trust and the integrity of the profession."

"Bilhimer’s own detectives only require a high school degree as does 194 civil service departments," Rodrick said. "He is a far-left liberal hypocrite appointed by the Murphy administration who places more value on an associates degree in psychology, than in four years of military service."

A letter from attorney Jean Cipriani to Billhimer noted that several towns in Ocean County governed by civil service hiring have similar requirements, which she said match requirements from the state.

The Toms River Police Benevolent Association, the police officers' union, in a statement posted on its Facebook page, countered a number of Rodrick's claims about the officers' salaries and the department's schedule. It also criticized the removal of command staff input from the hiring process and the changes to the educational requirements.

"Despite claims to the contrary, our current hiring process is more accommodating to Armed Service veterans," the PBA letter said. "This is evident in the large number of veterans (active duty, reserves and retired) from nearly every branch of the United States military who are currently employed within our department. Any insinuation that this 'new ordinance' improves or enhances veteran opportunities is purely conjecture."