Toms River, NJ – Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick today expressed his frustration with Toms River Council President Justin Lamb after Lamb voted on Wednesday night with what Rodrick calls the “Mo Hill Gang” on the township council to keep a political patronage pit operational.
The Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority is an independing agency that manages the town’s wastewater sewer pipes that connect from homes and businesses to the Ocean County MUA’s treatment facilities.
Rodrick referred to his opposition on the council as the “Mo Hill Gang”.
After putting together an ordinance and posting on the council agenda Wednesday night, Lamb shocked even his opponents by voting against his own ordinance, Rodrick said.
Rodrick said the Toms River MUA is nothing more than a patronage pit for Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, a convicted felon, and the Mo-Hill alighed Toms River Republican Club, both of which united to save the health benefits of the commissioners who meet for about one hour each month, but receive an estimated $45,000 annual premium healthcare benefits package, paid for by residents of Toms River.
“Nothing that is on the agenda makes it onto the agenda without authorization of the council president. Council president Lamb’s sudden reversal is a clear indication of a promise made by Convict Chairman George Gilmore, who ‘s firm is the engineer for the municipal utilities authority,” Rodrick said today. “Lamb’s wife was promised a job at the county and she was also promised to be the next Ocean County Clerk when Jack Kelly steps When aside. I wonder what Jorge promised Justin?”
Among the commissioners earning a free resident-funded benefits package is Phil Brilliant, the man organizing a recall effort against the mayor. Brilliant would stand to lose his free health benefits if the MUA was to merge.
By voting against the measure, Brilliant will most likely be reappointed to the MUA in January and retain his free healthcare package, for spending about one hour per month at the monthly MUA commissioner’s meeting, earning him roughly $3,750 per hour in financial and medical compensation for his participation with the board.
Rodrick said that he strongly opposes the MUA commissioners receiving a full-time employee’s benefits package for just showing up to 12 short meetings each year. Records show Brilliant has missed at least one meeting in 2025.
“Justin Lamb is also protecting commissioners who receive a $45,000 health insurance policy for going to one 10 minute meeting a month,” the mayor said. “The Township already manages the stormwater sewers. Residents shouldn’t have to pay outrageous sewer bills to an authority that doesn’t need to exist. Dissolving the MUA would’ve saved taxpayers millions of dollars. It was a sad day for residents.”
“I’ve railed against all these authorities. I believe they’re all patronage pits throughout New Jersey, especially the parking authority,” Lamb said at the meeting. “I believe that again, these places are places where we just put professionals, you know, we just don’t know what to do with them in the township. We just give them another role.”
Rodrick echoed Lamb’s statement regarding the MUA being a patronage pit.
“They go to one meeting a month for 10 minutes and get a $45,000 health insurance policy. The one where politically connected law firms and engineering firms milk us for about half a million dollars a year each,” Rodrick said. “So many people owe their political positions to power brokers, to political power brokers. It’s pretty clear that this council is bought and owned by the same political interests.”
