TOMS RIVER, NJ – When Chris Christie was governor, he fought against New Jersey’s patronage pit industrial complex, specifically, no-show public utilities commissions, which essentially provided full medical benefits packages to politically connected individuals in exchange for no-show jobs.
In Toms River, the Municipal Utilities Authority is one such commission, where its members get a $45,000 medical benefits package, plus a salary, for attending one meeting per month that lasts under one hour in most cases.
The Toms River MUA, which manages wastewater lines that go to the Ocean County MUA, managed to circumvent that order by the former governor and is now providing full medical benefits for a 7 member board that shows up for work for about an hour per month.
Now, Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick is asking the township council to finish the job former Governor Christie and several mayors before him tried to do, dissolve the Municipal Utilities Authority, a widely known political patronage pit that costs ratepayers millions of dollars each year, and has been steadily raising the costs of quarterly sewer bills for residents.
“The Toms River MUA a redundant government agency that is nothing more than a place to put politically connected people to get free healthcare on the backs of the people of Toms River,” Rodrick said today. “We already manage the storm sewers in town. However, the MUA also has an expensive leadership hierarchy that costs residents over $2 million annually, and we can perform the job in-house while keeping all on-the-ground workers employed by the township. We’re simply cutting the administration jobs and dissolving the board, where benefits alone are costing the people of Toms River over $300,000 per year for people who show up to just one quick meeting each month.”
Rodrick says the move will continue to allow the township to avoid tax increases while lowering costs.
Toms River mayor moves to scrap utilities authority in bid to cut $2.5M
Rodrick said he plans to dissolve the Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority and consolidate its work with the township to reduce costs.
Two ordinances are slated for a vote on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at town hall to abolish the authority and establish a wastewater services utility under the township that will work with the township’s existing storm sewer department.
Rodrick says the change would save approximately $2.5 million per year and eliminate several appointed positions while maintaining the MUA’s rank-and-file employees on the job.
Key Points
- Rodrick proposes dissolving the MUA and creating a township wastewater utility, with a claimed annual savings of about $2.5 million.
- The move would eliminate the authority’s commissioners and outside professionals while offering employment to current MUA staff within the township.
- Any dissolution requires approval by the Township Council and the state Department of Community Affairs, and outstanding MUA debt must be addressed.
The authority no longer treats sewage as it did when it was established, and instead maintains approximately 1,000 miles of pipeline that convey wastewater to the Ocean County Utilities Authority. It also owns a West Water Street headquarters and adjacent acreage.
If dissolved, its operations would be absorbed into the township’s engineering, legal, and finance departments, with existing employees hired by the town, while the authority’s appointed professionals would be dismissed.
The proposal would also eliminate the authority’s board of five commissioners and two alternates, who receive $2,000 per year and are eligible for health benefits while serving. Rodrick estimates that this would result in $45,000 per policy and $315,000 per year in potential savings if all commissioners take coverage.
While the MUA operates independently, its commissioners are appointed by the Township Council, and political ties are common among appointees, with donors, friends, and family, as well as political allies often securing the positions.
The council’s balance is set to shift in January from a 4–3 majority aligned with Rodrick to a 4–3 majority critical of the mayor, altering the outlook for the proposal.
Past mayors have weighed similar moves, including former Democratic Mayor Paul C. Brush, whose efforts stalled, and former GOP Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher, who ordered a study but never moved on it, perhaps from political pressure from county Republican leaders and Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore.
Rodrick cites a 2013 review under Kelaher that projected roughly $2 million in annual savings from ending the authority and bringing operations in-house, a model used by municipalities such as Howell and Stafford.
Eliminating the authority requires passage of a township ordinance to absorb the MUA and separate approval from the state Department of Community Affairs.