Toms River Council OKs Controversial Police Staffing Ordinance

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Township Council voted Wednesday afternoon to approve an ordinance to remove two captains' positions from the township police department's staffing, despite multiple pleas from the audience to take more time to consider the changes.

The 5-2 vote came amid a meeting repeatedly punctuated by personal attacks and heated exchanges between members of the council, and between members of the public and the council and Mayor Daniel Rodrick.

The meeting was posted on the township's YouTube channel but has since been hidden by the township.

The council vote also came despite a member of the public pointing out that the title of the ordinance highlights three sections of the police department staffing — the captains, the sworn rank-and-file officers and the media relations position — but does not actually address all three in the body of the ordinance. Read it here.

A recall petition signature drive is underway, with the goal of forcing the council to either rescind the ordinance or put it to a vote of the residents. Petition organizers have 20 days to collect signatures and get the petition certified. Read more: Police Staffing Controversy Sparks Recall Petition In Toms River

Council President Craig Coleman rejected statements from Councilman James Quinlisk that the meeting was being held in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act because the meeting agenda was not published 48 hours before the meeting. Printed copies were available at the meeting, but as of 11 p.m. Wednesday — nine hours after the 2 p.m. start of the meeting — the agenda had not been published on the Toms River Township website.

Rodrick insisted again that money tied up in the salaries of two police captains — one who retired Feb. 1, and one due to retire in June — is needed to fund the hiring of eight EMTs to address what he says are wait times of 30 minutes for an ambulance in Toms River.

Toms River PBA President Kenneth Thomas and Toms River Fraternal Order of Police President Ron Sermarini urged the council and Rodrick to rethink the removal of the captains because of the supervisory duties, which encompass more than just the sworn officers.

The Toms River Police Department has more than 300 personnel, and each captain's position supervises a different area of the department.

In addition, Thomas and Sermarini again disputed the response times for first aid calls, saying the department's average in 2023 was 7.9 minutes.

The council vote — Coleman, Council Vice President Lynn O'Toole, and Councilmen Justin Lamb, Tom Nivison and George Lobman voted in favor, and Quinlisk and David Ciccozzi voted against it — happened after a public comment session on the ordinance that was capped at 90 minutes. The comment session ended with Coleman refusing to allow Police Chief Mitch Little to speak, after Quinlisk and Ciccozzi urged him to the microphone, saying the council should hear from the chief before the vote.

They did hear from a retired Toms River captain, who urged the council to research the town's history, particularly how much was paid out in the early 1990s when captains were eliminated from the department.

Jeff Kettig, who served in the department from 1977 to 2008, said the then-Dover Township Committee (Toms River changed its name and form of government in 2006) voted in 1992 to slash the command staff following a slew of retirements.

Before the change, the department had a chief, two deputy chiefs and four captains. The committee filled the police chief's position, but eliminated the deputy chiefs and cut two captains, leaving the command staff at a chief and two captains with a department of 113 sworn officers, including command staff and rank-and-file police officers, plus some civilian positions.

The result, Kettig said, was the two remaining captains had to push more work to the lieutenants, and the lieutenants had to push work to the sergeants.

"It was a hot mess," Kettig said. "Overtime skyrocketed," because training sessions had to be added instead of sergeants being able to work with police officers and provide instant feedback in the wake of responding to a call.

"We overran the overtime budget every year for routine training," he said.

Kettig and others warned that removing the captains — and the cascade effect of responsibilities being spread out — increase the likelihood of litigation against the department and the risk of that litigation costing the township significant money in lawsuit settlements.

"You're going to pay for it (cutting the captains) for years to come," Kettig said.

"Lack of training is the first thing they come after," a speaker who identified himself as a retired police officer said, adding that police are under increased scrutiny over every action and decision they make.

Liz Dorick, whose husband is a retired Toms River police captain, took aim at Rodrick's repeated criticism of the captains' positions as "desk jobs."

"I wrote to the mayor about this and he 'schooled' me on what captains do," Dorick told the council before revealing her husband was a former captain and saying Rodrick's claim is off-base.

"They are not just sitting behind a desk," she said.