Toms River petition could force repeal of police job cuts or put them before voters

TOMS RIVER - Organizers of a petition drive aimed at repealing a police staffing ordinance have collected nearly 5,000 registered voters' signatures, above the 3,079 they say are needed to put the measure back before the Township Council.

Phil Brilliant, one of the leaders of the petition drive, turned in 541 pages of signatures Monday to Township Clerk Mike Cruoglio. "This was a nonpartisan push from all sides of Toms River, all wards of Toms River," Brilliant said.

The clerk has 20 days to verify that there are enough signatures to send the ordinance back to the council, which can amend it, withdraw it, or let it be placed on the ballot for a vote in a special election. According to state statutes, voters in communities like Toms River that are governed by the Faulkner Act (or Optional Municipal Charter Law), have the ability to petition the governing body to protest an ordinance.

In order for the petition to be successful, organizers must collect the number of signatures that equals at least 15% of the voters who cast ballots in the last state Assembly election, which happened in November. If the clerk certifies that the organizers have collected the necessary number of signatures, the council will have 20 days to withdraw the measure.

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If the council does not act, a special election on the ordinance would be scheduled 40 to 60 days later, said former Democratic Councilman Terrance Turnbach, who worked on the petition drive.

"I would say we are at 4,900 to 5,000 signatures," Turnbach said. "Throughout the weekend we had a team that verified more than 4,000 signatures."

Council members voted 5 to 2 on Feb. 14 in favor of Mayor Daniel Rodrick's proposal to cut two captains' positions from the police department in order to pay for eight new emergency medical technicians. The captains are retiring, and their jobs would not be filled.

Rodrick has repeatedly said that a lack of EMTs is a "life-and-death issue" and that cutting the captains' jobs will save $700,000 in salaries and benefits, allowing the township to fund the new first aid responders. Residents of the barrier island, in particular, have complained of slow response times, as volunteer first aid squads there disbanded over the past few years.

The number of patrol officers has been reduced by one, from 113 to 112, under the ordinance, and Jillian Messina, former community relations officer at the department, had her job eliminated.

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"With or without the ordinance, my administration will not be backfilling these two $350,000 positions," Rodrick said Monday, referring to the total salaries, pensions and benefits of the two captains' jobs. "We are moving forward with adding eight more EMTs to put another ambulance on the road 24 hours a day.

"The unions certainly put a lot of money and effort into collecting signatures, now it is time to see if they have enough," he added. "Even if they do, it represents a tiny fraction of our community. I have an obligation to do what's right for our residents and we must fix EMS."

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The cuts set off a firestorm of protest, with police officers and their supporters crowding the Feb. 14 meeting to speak against cutting the captains' jobs. Almost everyone who spoke at the meeting opposed cutting the captains' positions.

The cuts have also been criticized by Toms River's Policemen's Benevolent Association and the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents superior officers. In a letter to residents posted on their social media sites last week, the two police unions said the average response time for an ambulance in 2023 was 7.9 minutes, and the average police officer response to a first aid call was 6.7 minutes.

"I would hope that they keep in mind everything that they have heard at the meetings, everything they have read," Brilliant said. "People have concerns about public safety. … They need to listen to the experts and the reports that are out there."

He noted that $400,000 in grant funds are available to hire EMTs, and that police Chief Mitch Little believes more money could be obtained.

"I think the message all along was, 'Let’s have a conversation, let’s talk through things instead of just deciding this is the way to go,'" Turnbach said. "… We need you to do better, we need you to listen to the residents."

Rodrick and his council running mates won a resounding victory in the November election, and the mayor has insisted that the "silent majority" in town supports his administration's actions.

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Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and writes about issues related to Superstorm Sandy. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle,  jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River petition: Police job cuts could be killed or put to voters