Toms River, NJ – The Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority voted earlier this year to launch an outside investigation into the illegal use of its fueling stations by non-authorized entities.
The decision followed a return to public session after a closed-door discussion on the matter by the commissioners.
Authority commissioners acted to authorize a review of both past and current fuel activity.
Key Points
- Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority approved up to $15,000 for an investigation
- Probe will examine possible illegal use of the authority’s fueling stations
- Board members voted unanimously to authorize hiring outside investigators
The measure was approved with unanimous support by the board.
The measure allows up to $15,000 to be spent on reviewing records and activity connected to the authority’s fuel usage.
Board seeks full accounting of fuel usage
Officials moved forward with the action after raising concerns about irregularities linked to fuel access and usage.
The board determined that an independent review was necessary to assess whether unauthorized use occurred and to determine the extent of any losses.
Investigation to focus on past and present activity
The review is expected to include historical and current fuel data, station access records, and any supporting documentation.
Board members did not disclose any information as to who has been suspected of the unauthorized fuel usage, but court documents show a business entity owned by a former councilmember as being sued by the township over potential illegal fuel usage.
It is not known at this time if the two matters are related.
At another meeting, MUA officials noted that fuel theft may have occurred due to relaxed security measures with fobs used to access the pumps.
“There have been discussions with the Executive Director about a temporary resolution to the fob problem that has accrued over the last couple years. The current existing fobs will all be cancelled and turned off and new, color coded fobs will be issued to all the agencies’ vehicles who use our fuel station,” the board said. “As to not disrupt the buses during the school this reset will take place during summer break. This will be a temporary fix until the new tanks come in and a permanent solution with more up to date technology can be determined.”
The following month, the board discussed the fuel security issue again.
“Met with Glenn Miller and his forensic accountant, they will be developing a report in draft form shortly,
suggestions for improvements with the fuel system will be included in that report. It was reiterated again that any changes, to the fueling system will be done when the school year is over,” the board said in May.
In June, the board issued a new fuel fob policy using color coded fobs to determine which agencies were fueling their vehicles at the township pump.
In September, the board announced it was looking into a new facial recognition system to combat fuel theft of misuse, but as of that meeting, no results for the forensic audit announced earlier this year have been released.