Glitches, antisemitic comment kill Toms River meeting, stop vote on cutting cop jobs

TOMS RIVER - The Township Council was unable to hold a public hearing and potential vote on an ordinance cutting two police captains' jobs after technical difficulties forced the adjournment of the virtual Zoom meeting before the council could consider the measure.

The controversial ordinance would eliminate two captains' jobs through attrition, in order to fund eight new emergency medical technicians who would work for the police department. The measure, championed by Mayor Daniel Rodrick, has faced strong opposition since it was introduced by the council Jan. 18.

Wednesday's meeting was moved to the Zoom platform when it became clear that the likely attendance would be greater than the 249-person capacity of the L. Manual Hirshblond meeting room in town hall.

The Zoom meeting had a 500-person capacity, which for a time prevented Councilman George Lobman from entering the virtual meeting room, meaning he was unable to vote on several ordinances on the agenda.

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More than 700 people were also watching the meeting on the township's YouTube channel, although the first 15 minutes of the meeting were not broadcast on YouTube.

"I’m very disappointed that the computer tech did not enforce decorum," Rodrick said after the meeting abruptly ended about 35 minutes after the 7 p.m. start. "It’s outrageous that the clerk ended the meeting without the approval of the council, and without an official vote."

The meeting was plagued with technical difficulties from the start, and was also disrupted by Councilmen David Ciccozzi and James Quinlisk, who had both previously said they thought it should be held in public, and not on Zoom.

"I am here in town hall and I am totally opposed to this meeting, I think it’s illegal," Ciccozzi said.

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Council President Craig Coleman had difficulty controlling the meeting, as Quinlisk occasionally spoke over him and Council Vice President Lynn O'Toole admonished Quinlisk to stop talking. Rodrick frequently told the IT technician to mute people who did not have the floor, calling for "decorum." But the process sometimes left council members, and, on one occasion, Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin, muted at inopportune times.

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The meeting ended during the start of a public hearing on item number 13 on the agenda, an ordinance that would reshape Toms River's public works department by placing the divisions of roads and sanitation directly under the township's business administrator, and place the division of parks, buildings and grounds under the recreation department.

The first person who raised his hand to speak about the measure began asking council members about "Jews and tunnels," a reference to an illegal tunnel found under a Brooklyn synagogue. As he continued to make offensive remarks, Rodrick called on the questioner to be muted, but he was not and continued to speak. The meeting was shut down.

The police ordinance was number 15 on the agenda.

Following the meeting the mayor said that a special meeting will likely have to be held, since the council did not get to vote to pay bills before the adjournment.

"The majority of the town is behind us," he insisted. He said, "We chose this forum to make sure everybody had an opportunity to speak, and honestly to keep it more about Toms River, so that we didn’t have police officers from all over the state descending on Toms River. … We won’t be held hostage by special interest groups and unions."

Dominick Rotondo, who heads the International Association of Firefighters Local 4846, sent a letter to Rodrick supporting the addition of the eight new first aid responders. The union represents Toms River's 16 community service officers.

"Most, if not all, of our members have roots in volunteer EMS organizations, but in a township with 13,233 EMS calls in 2023 it is no longer feasible to rely on volunteers to provide this necessary service to our residents and visitors," Rotondo wrote. "From 2010 to 2023 there has been an increase of about 3,000 EMS calls per year. That being said, as the township’s population and commercial footprint has increased, the number of ambulances on the road has actually decreased over the years."

Rotondo said the township had not seriously tried to add more first aid responders in the last 10 years.

"In 2023, of those 13,233 EMS calls, there were 716 instances where an ambulance was not immediately available to respond from within the township," he wrote. "While we have mutual aid agreements with surrounding townships, we consider that number to be unacceptable.

"In the summer months of 2023, when there was an additional ambulance on the barrier island for 12 hours per day, the number of times that there were no ambulances available was significantly decreased compared to the rest of the year, despite them being our busiest months overall," he continued.

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 vote on cutting police job postponed after glitchy meeting