'You're A Sellout': Rift Widens Between Toms River Mayor, Councilman

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A rift appears to be widening between Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick and Councilman Tom Nivison, after Rodrick called Nivison "a sellout" during a shouting match at the Township Council meeting last week.

The shouting match that ended with Rodrick walking out of the meeting with business administrator Jon Salonis was one of two he had Wednesday night with Nivison, who had been one of Rodrick's council running mates in 2023

The friction started during the public hearing on the township's 2024 budget. The $142.78 million spending plan was presented with no increase in the tax rate and with what Salonis said are plans for new parks, elevating roads and adding community service officers to staff another ambulance.

Salonis also said the township also would be saving $1 million by eliminating the costs of operating the Toms River Animal Shelter by leasing it to Ocean County, repeating a claim Rodrick made as a recall petition circulated seeking to overturn a township ordinance passed for the lease. Rodrick earlier in the year had said the shelter expenses were $600,000 to $700,000.

Toms River spent $518,756.25 in 2023 to operate the shelter, according to financial records obtained through an Open Public Records Act request. Those documents are at the bottom of this article.

Nivison criticized the process that went into creating the 2024 budget, saying he had anticipated a sitdown of the council with township administration so council members could ask questions about the spending plan.

"I thought we would have a meeting to go over it," Nivison said when it was his turn to vote on the budget. He said the complexity of it left him with numerous questions, and he expressed frustration that he did not have an opportunity to ask them or have input.

Rodrick responded that he had set a goal of no tax increase for the 2024 budget, then asked if Nivison supported that goal.

"I would be in favor of a tax increase to keep the shelter," Nivison said. He had voted against the ordinance to lease the shelter to the county and gotten into a shouting match over it with Rodrick at the April 28 meeting where that ordinance was approved.

Nivison abstained from voting on the budget.

It was a discussion about the hiring of an attorney to represent the township in the ongoing fight over the state Department of Environmental Protection's natural resources restoration settlement with BASF over the former Ciba-Geigy Superfund site. Donald F. Burke was appointed as special counsel for the matter, with a maximum fee of $50,000, according to the resolution.

Toms River officials have been fighting the settlement since it was first announced as a tentative deal in December 2022, saying they had no input into the deal and should have been part of the discussion.

In October, Save Barnegat Bay and Toms River filed an appeal of the settlement, calling it a sweetheart deal and saying it violated the state Constitution.

Several residents questioned the choice of Burke on two fronts:

1. He had been the attorney who represented Councilwoman Lynn O'Toole in the recent challenge filed by Kevin Geoghegan on the council candidate petition of William Byrne, where O'Toole notarized the document.

2. Burke was sued by Save Barnegat Bay over allegations that Burke and his family had violated state environmental law by dumping material from dredging onto wetlands around Barnegat Bay. The case was dismissed but Save Barnegat Bay has appealed the ruling.

After hearing the issues raised by residents, Nivison began questioning the appointment and an argument with Rodrick ensued. The argument quickly escalated, with it ending with Rodrick shouting "You're a sellout!" at Nivison before getting up and leaving the meeting.

Toms River Animal Shelter Expenses 2023 by Karen Wall on Scribd