TOMS RIVER, NJ – It’s a public no-show job and a grift that would make even fictional New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano want a piece of the action. Now, Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick wants it to end.
They are public officials who work on average, one hour per month, but receive free taxpayer-funded healthcare worth $43,600 per year, based on a family of four. Now, Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick, as part of his waste and fraud-cutting campaign, wants to end it, but two weeks ago, the Toms River council blocked his attempt to end what he calls a taxpayer-funded political patronage pit.
Phil Brilliant wants to recall the mayor and “Dump Dan Rodrick” – Here’s why
Mayor Rodrick is calling for an immediate end to taxpayer-funded healthcare for part-time members of the Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority, who attend just one meeting lasting about an hour each month while receiving premium medical benefits.
According to public meeting minutes, in 2025 meetings were from 45 minutes to an hour-and-a-half. And each member received medical benefits equal to full-time employees working in the town hall 35.5 hours per week or more.
That comes out to a total benefits compensation of $4,500 per one-hour meeting, making them the highest paid public workers in all of Ocean County and perhaps even the entire state of New Jersey.
Rodrick said the authority, which manages the township’s sanitary sewers, has become “a patronage pit” benefiting politically connected figures appointed under previous administrations. He argued that the practice of granting full healthcare coverage to commissioners who earn a $2,000 stipend is “an insult to taxpayers.”
Among those commissioners are Phillip Brilliant, former president of the B’nai Israel Congregation and owner of Brilliant Environmental Services; Schmuel “Sam” Ellenbogen, Ocean County Commissioner-elect and head of the Toms River Jewish Community Council; developer Tariq Siddiqui; and Katerina Sevastakis, daughter of former Councilman John Sevastakis. Past commissioners have included Joseph Bilotta, former head of Republicans for Toms River; Charles Valvano; and former Councilman Al Manforti—all appointed during the tenure of former Mayor Maurice Hill.
Mayor decries missed opportunity to save millions
Rodrick said dissolving the MUA could have saved taxpayers $2.5 million immediately, with the long-term potential to eliminate sewer bills entirely. He criticized the Township Council’s recent decision to keep the authority intact.
In most towns in Ocean County, MUA commissioners no longer receive free healthcare plans, following former Governor Chris Christie’s end of the decades-old practice. The Toms River MUA has found a way around the ban on free healthcare to part-time commissioners, an order that was rarely enforced by the state.
The mayor said the reversal by the council, “cost taxpayers millions” and pointed to reported ties between the MUA and the Ocean County Republican leadership. He noted that the county GOP Chairman George Gilmore’s engineering firm holds the MUA’s engineering contract and cited claims that the chairman offered to assist Councilman Justin Lamb’s wife in obtaining a county job shortly before the vote, causing him to flip on his former political ally.
Political connections under scrutiny
The MUA, which generates about $22 million annually—roughly a quarter of Toms River’s total revenue—currently provides commissioners with healthcare plans valued at up to $43,600 per family per year. In addition to commissioners’ stipends, executive staff earn six-figure salaries, with Executive Director Bernard Rutkowski receiving $159,800 and CFO Michael Lee earning $139,700, plus bonuses and benefits, according to the authority’s 2025 financial disclosure.
Rodrick says merging the MUA with the township’s existing sewer utilities department cut expensive administrative overhead.
Rodrick argued that the township already manages stormwater sewers efficiently, calling the separate sanitary authority redundant.
“Taxpayers should not be footing the bill for healthcare benefits of political appointees who show up once a month,” he said.
Call for accountability and reform
Rodrick praised Council members Coleman, O’Toole, and Byrne for supporting his proposal to dissolve the authority, saying he would continue to press for reforms that prioritize efficiency and transparency. He said ending free healthcare for part-time commissioners would be a necessary first step toward restoring trust and fiscal discipline in township operations.
Rodrick says eliminating the costly benefits for one-hour-a-month commissioners is critical to protecting taxpayers and rebuilding public confidence in local government.
“If they aren’t going to dissolve the MUA, they need to immediately end free benefits to politically connected folks who just show up for work for one hour per month,” Rodrick said.