'Toms River Told Us They Were Closing The (Animal) Shelter,' Singer Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Ocean County Board of Health voted Wednesday to approve a resolution to negotiate a lease to operate the Toms River Animal Shelter, with the board's chairman and vice chairman saying they were doing so to keep the shelter operating.

"Toms River told us they were closing the shelter," state Sen. Robert Singer said as he cast his yes vote on the resolution.

"They said they are going to close the facility," John J. "Jack" Mallon, the board chairman, said earlier in the meeting.

"We did not ask for this. They came to us," Singer said.

Those statements contradict repeated statements over the last four months from Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick that said the town was not closing the shelter.

The 5-1 vote on the resolution (with three abstentions) authorized the health department to enter into a lease with Toms River to operate the animal shelter. It came after several residents spoke, urging the board to table the resolution.

Toms River Business Administrator Jon Salonis told the Board of Health the township cannot afford to operate the shelter, in spite of a $1 million gift from a donor's estate that is specifically for the operations of the shelter, which Rodrick had cited in January and February as being sufficient to run the shelter for two years.

Rodrick in a letter to residents mailed over the weekend claimed the shelter was costing Toms River nearly $1 million to operate each year, after saying in April the cost was $600,000 to $700,000.

Toms River spent $518,756.25 to operate the township's shelter in 2023, including salaries, according to documents obtained through an Open Public Records Act request. The largest expense after the salaries was $70,705 for veterinary services, including spay/neutering of kittens and puppies.

The township's financial documents show two accounts specifically designated for donations to the animal shelter. As of Jan. 31, one account had a balance of $235,728.08. It included more than $20,000 in donations made in 2023. The second account, dedicated to the Jeanne Pyne Estate donation, had $787,952.57. The initial amount from the stock sale was $1,093,089.78, plus $5,137.15 in interest, but funds from that account were used to pay for shelter expenses in 2023. The overall donation total remaining was $1,023,628.45, as of Jan. 31, according to the donation documents received via an OPRA request.

Singer said the county has budgeted $1.5 million to operate its animal shelters this year, and included funding to cover the Toms River shelter; the county's budget was adopted April 4.

The lease agreement has not been finalized, said Daniel Regenye, the public health coordinator for the health department, who said he had just received the proposed lease not long before Wednesday's meeting.

Residents who spoke urged the Board of Health to wait in part because of a recall petition drive that seeks to force the council to rescind the ordinance it passed April 24. The ordinance passed with a 4-3 vote and after a lengthy public hearing where multiple residents urged the council to reject the ordinance.

The petition organizers must collect 3,079 signatures from Toms River registered voters — 15 percent of the 20,000 who voted in the November 2023 election. The petition must be submitted by May 13, organizers have said.

Singer responded angrily to statements from residents expressing concerns about the county's shelter operations and the potential for animals to be euthanized.

"We are very well-equipped to take care of the animals," Singer said.

Mallon, Ruthanne Scaturro and Jennifer Bacchione highlighted the county shelter's response to two high-profile animal hoarding incidents in Brick — the dog hoarding in late 2022 and the cat hoarding in the spring of 2023 — as examples of how well the county cares for animals that come into its facilities.

In response to questions about euthanasia rates, Mallon said the county's rates had been pushed higher by animals sent to it by Toms River — animals that were overly aggressive and ones that were ill and could not be saved through veterinary care. That had been an issue in 2022, when animal rescue groups packed a Toms River council meeting to clamor for the rescue of two dogs from the Toms River shelter.

The Board of Health vote was 5-1, with three abstentions.