Toms River police cuts: If council won't rescind them, voters get to decide
TOMS RIVER - Residents who oppose an ordinance that cut two police captains' positions have succeeded in collecting the 3,079 signatures necessary to send the measure back to the Township Council, Toms River Clerk Mike Cruoglio said in a letter he sent to the petitioners late last week.
Cruoglio is expected to make a report on the petition at the council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 27. The council will then have 20 days to rescind the ordinance; if they choose not to, then voters will get to decide on the measure.
Cruoglio said a vote on the measure would happen during the November general election, but state statutes indicate that a special election may be required if no general election is scheduled within 90 days.
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.
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Organizers collected more than 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.
The petitioners began collecting signatures after the council introduced the ordinance in January; the measure cut two captains' positions and one patrol officer's job from the police department's table of organization. Two captains are retiring this year, and Mayor Daniel Rodrick said he will use the $700,000 savings from those jobs to pay for eight new emergency medical technicians.
Declaring it was a matter of "life and death," Rodrick has argued that the first aiders are more important than the captains, noting that hiring the EMS workers will help staff another full-time ambulance. Ambulance service, particularly on the barrier island, has suffered since first Superstorm Sandy, and then the pandemic forced the closure of volunteer first aid squads there.
Rodrick has vowed not to approve promotions in the police department, so it may not matter if the ordinance is rescinded. But it will re-establish the two captains' jobs in the police department's table of organization, which means a future administration could restore those jobs.
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Police Chief Mitch Little has said the township could find grant money to pay for the new emergency medical technicians, who would work for the police department. He urged Rodrick to reconsider the staff cuts.
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 month, 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.
Rodrick has said some residents have had to wait up to 30 minutes for an ambulance, but has not provided data to support his claim.
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 police cuts forced back to council; voters may decide
