TOMS RIVER, N.J. – They created a rule that all Toms River elected officials should take government knowledge classes after taking office or lose their pay.
Then, when they defied their own resolution and their pay was cut, they opted to change the rules again so they could restore their paychecks.
The Toms River Township Council has voted to eliminate a training requirement it imposed on itself earlier this year, removing the provision that had become the basis for withholding council members’ municipal paychecks. That resolution required all elected officials to take township-approved training classes so that newly elected members of the body could understand their roles in government.
That ordinance required them to take a class that explains their legal role in government, their legal capacity as council members, and basic instruction on New Jersey laws and guidelines that govern elected officials. It was meant to be a safeguard against reckless misconduct by local elected leaders and to make sure elected officials knew the limits and scope of their powers.
When four council members refused to take the township-required course, Mayor Dan Rodrick froze their pay until the completed training.
One member, Dave Ciccozzi, took the course and completed it. Councilmembers Tom Nivison, Robert Bianchini, and Clinton Bradley all defied the mayor’s request. Instead of taking the township-required class, they chose to overturn the resolution they voted for this past spring.
Councilman Clinton Bradley read an ordinance into the record at the meeting, which he struggled to read coherently, leading Mayor Rodrick to criticize him because, “It was written by AI,” the mayor said.
The incoherent babbling by Bradley nonetheless was read into the official record and voted on by the council.
At the meeting, the “anti-Rodrick slate” of councilmen refused to allow attorney Jonathan Penny to speak on the law and legality of the resolution and engaged in shouting matches with Mayor Dan Rodri,ck who was trying to explain why the training is necessary and that four out of the seven sitting members had completed the course.
The meeting was once again chaotic as Council President Ciccozi lost control, letting random people from the audience get up to the microphone, requiring police officers to take control of the meeting room several times.
The move follows an April resolution requiring every council member to complete six hours of training on the Faulkner Act, municipal powers, ethics and the legal boundaries between the mayor and council. The resolution gave sitting council members 60 days to complete the training and tied compliance to their compensation. Township records confirm the council adopted the training requirement at its April 8 meeting.
- The council’s April resolution required members to complete two three-hour municipal government training classes within 60 days.
- Council compensation was subsequently withheld after members did not meet the training requirement, according to an earlier Shore News Network report.
- Rather than complete the requirement before being paid, the council has now voted to eliminate the requirement that triggered the pay dispute.
Council Had Required Itself to Take Faulkner Act Training
The April resolution was unusually specific about what council members were expected to learn.
Mayor Dan Rodrick said the class was provided to limit the township’s exposure to lawsuits against the council. The council is facing a lawsuit for not understanding the law and its limits when they began using bills and claims as political weapons against vendors they disagreed with, including contractors, lawyers, and even media advertisers.
The weaponization of bills and claims by elected officials in New Jersey is not only an ethical violation, but according to the Office of the Attorney General, could also bring criminal liability. It can also bring costly lawsuits against the township officials who don’t follow state regulations that dictate the limits and capacities of sitting elected officials.
It required training on the Council-Mayor form of government under the Faulkner Act, including the respective authority of the mayor and council, statutory duties and limitations, conflicts, ethical obligations and procedures for municipal decision-making and contracting.
The resolution itself explained why council members believed the training was necessary. It stated that a clear understanding of checks and balances and the responsibilities of elected officials was essential to the “effective, lawful, and transparent operation of municipal government.”
It also said proper municipal training promotes compliance with the law, reduces the risk of unauthorized government actions and litigation, and strengthens public confidence.
Under the measure, council members were required to attend two three-hour classes at Town Hall with a recognized instructor. Approved providers could include the New Jersey League of Municipalities, Rutgers Center for Government Services, the township’s Director of Law or another qualified municipal law firm.
Instead, the four councilmen defied their resolution and claimed to have taken a municipal government course at Ocean County College, which was not in the approved courses list.
The classes were to be provided at no cost to council members.
“All current members of the Township Council shall complete the required training within 60 days of the passage of this resolution,” the measure stated.
Paychecks Became the Flashpoint
The issue moved beyond training when council members’ compensation was withheld.
Shore News Network previously reported that Mayor Daniel Rodrick’s administration stopped council pay after members failed to comply with the training requirement.
That dispute became public in August amid a broader breakdown between the administration and council over communications and access to township equipment.
The council has now taken a different route to resolving the compensation dispute: removing the training requirement itself, then get paid, while still not taking the required courses.
The vote effectively eliminates the condition that had been cited for withholding compensation rather than requiring council members to first complete the classes called for under their April resolution.
Training Was Intended to Address Roles, Ethics and Legal Limits
The subject matter spelled out in the April resolution is important because Toms River operates under New Jersey’s Faulkner Act Council-Mayor form of government, which divides executive and legislative authority between the mayor and council.
The council’s own resolution specifically called for instruction on “the respective roles and authorities of the Mayor and Council” as well as “statutory duties, limitations, conflicts, and ethical obligations of elected officials.”
Those issues have repeatedly surfaced during an increasingly contentious year at Town Hall with issues that have been escalated to lawsuits and with many other council decisions teetering on becoming lawsuits.
The council and Rodrick administration have battled over appointments, municipal attorneys, contracts, redevelopment and other government actions. Shore News Network has previously reported on disputes involving council legal representation and taxpayer-funded health benefits for Toms River MUA commissioners.
The April resolution applied to all elected members of the council and also required future council members to complete the training within 60 days of taking office. When they did not, Rodrick cut their pay, as stated in their own resoltion.
They weren’t happy and after demands and threats fell on deaf ears, they decided to just overturn that resolution.
Paychecks restored. Accountability and compliance: deficient.
The council created the training requirement in April.
The resolution required two three-hour classes covering the Faulkner Act, mayor-council authority, ethics, statutory limitations and municipal decision-making.
Council members’ pay was later withheld over compliance.
Shore News Network previously reported that the Rodrick administration stopped council compensation after members failed to satisfy the training requirement.
The council has now eliminated the requirement.
Instead of leaving the training condition in place, the council voted to remove it, clearing the central obstacle that had been cited in the dispute over council pay.