Mayor Daniel Rodrick says the township is preparing to take the Toms River MUA benefits dispute to court after a divided council blocked an ordinance that would have ended health coverage for appointed commissioners.

TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick says a lawsuit challenging taxpayer-funded health benefits for members of the township’s Municipal Utilities Authority is imminent, escalating a political and legal fight that has been building for years over compensation provided to appointed commissioners.

Rodrick said the township is still preparing to challenge the MUA’s practice of providing health insurance to commissioners who generally attend one board meeting per month. The mayor has repeatedly argued that the benefits violate a township ordinance setting a compensation limit and that those healthcare benefits are excessive given the amount of time commissioners spend performing board duties.

At the center of the political fight is MUA Commissioner Phillip Brilliant, one of Rodrick’s most persistent local opponents and a member of the committee that unsuccessfully attempted to recall the mayor last year. Brilliant operates a dark-money Political Action Committee funded by former Mayor Mo Hill, former Councilman Kevin Geoghegan (and former head of Silverton EMS), and others.

Rodrick Says Benefits Violate Township Compensation Limit

Rodrick’s argument centers on language in the township code limiting compensation for an MUA member to no more than $2,000 annually for service as a commissioner.

Earlier this year, the administration backed an ordinance that would have made the township’s position explicit by stating that MUA members could not receive health benefits unless they were separately appointed as an officer, agent or employee of the authority.

That proposal never became law after the anti-Rodrick council majority tabled it.

At the May 13 council meeting, Council Vice President Thomas Nivison moved to table the ordinance, with Robert Bianchini seconding the motion. Nivison, Bianchini, Clinton Bradley and Council President David Ciccozzi voted to table it, while Harry Aber, Craig Coleman and Lynne O’Toole opposed shelving the measure. Toms River Township

Rodrick has since argued that if the council will not eliminate the benefits legislatively, a judge should determine whether the existing arrangement is lawful.

MUA Confirms Appointed Officials Receive Medical Coverage

The dispute sharpened again in September after records obtained by Shore News Network confirmed that six appointed MUA officials were enrolled in medical plans as evidenced by the annual budget.

Combined, between the appointed commissioners and executives of the MUA, taxpayers are paying over $345,000 in medical benefits.

In responding to an open-records request, MUA Executive Director Bernard Rutkowski drew a distinction between employees and commissioners.

“The TRMUA does not have any part-time employees that receive medical benefits,” Rutkowski wrote. “However, there are (6) Appointed Officials enrolled in Medical Plans.”

Those officials were identified as Charles Valvano, Phillip Brilliant, Kim Pascarella, James Braaten, Sam Ellenbogen and Katarina Sevastakis.

The authority’s current website lists five regular commissioners and two alternates, underscoring the unusual structure at the heart of the dispute. Toms River MUA

Brilliant Reappointed in 4-3 Council Vote

Brilliant’s position became another flashpoint in February when the Township Council reappointed him to a new five-year term on the authority.

Official council minutes show Nivison, Bianchini, Bradley and Ciccozzi voted in favor of the reappointment. Coleman, Aber and O’Toole voted against it.

The resolution gave Brilliant a term running from Feb. 1, 2026 through Jan. 31, 2031. It stated that he had originally been appointed to the MUA in July 2021 and cited his experience as a licensed site remediation professional among the reasons for keeping him on the board. Toms River Township.

Without a lawsuit, Brilliant is guaranteed four years of free medical care paid for by Toms River residents for the next three-plus years. In return, Brilliant shows up for just a single one-hour meeting each month.

MUA commissioners are appointed by the Township Council rather than elected by voters. The mayor does not have a say in who gets appointed.

Recall Fight Deepened Rodrick-Brilliant Feud

Brilliant also played a leading role in the Committee to Recall Mayor Daniel Rodrick, which began gathering signatures in August 2025.

The group needed 18,464 signatures to trigger a recall election, but Brilliant did not collect the required amount of signatures. He has never provided evidence of the signatures collected publicly. The alleged signed petitions were never submitted as required by law to trigger a recall.

Speculation remains about how many signatures Brilliant collected and how many were invalid, either duplicates, fake names, or out-of-town residents.

Brilliant refused Rodrick’s request to provide proof of his effort earlier this year.

Rodrick has repeatedly cited Brilliant when criticizing the system, arguing that appointed commissioners should not receive full health coverage for attending relatively short monthly meetings.

Health Benefit Question Predates Rodrick Administration

The controversy itself is not new.

Township records show the legality of subsidized health benefits for MUA commissioners was already under legal review as far back as 2020. The difference is, no mayor prior to Rodrick wanted to abolish the practice. It was considered a patronage pit, one of many Rodrick has fought to dismantle since becoming mayor.

Minutes from a May 2020 council action refer to a confidential legal analysis concerning “the legality of the subsidized health benefits received by the appointed TRMUA commissioners,” showing the issue was being examined years before Rodrick became mayor, but action was never taken.

The matter resurfaced with new intensity after Rodrick took office and began calling for the authority to be dissolved or consolidated with township operations as part of his overall townshipwide cost-cutting and tax-stabilizing measures.

Rodrick Initially Wanted to Eliminate MUA Entirely

Ending commissioner health benefits is only one part of Rodrick’s broader fight with the authority.

He previously pushed to dissolve the MUA and transfer its responsibilities into township government, arguing that Toms River could eliminate duplicative administrative, professional and legal expenses. He said that move would not only save $350,000 per year on medical benefit spending, but could save ratepayers over $2,000,000 annually by cutting out duplication of services and management that exist between the township and the MUA.

The MUA maintains the township’s sanitary sewer collection system. Sewage treatment itself is handled by the Ocean County Utilities Authority, while drinking water service in Toms River is provided separately.

Rodrick has described the authority as unnecessary overhead and said eliminating it could save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Council Majority Has Repeatedly Blocked Rodrick’s Approach

The current seven-member council has repeatedly split 4-3 on issues involving the MUA.

Nivison, Bianchini, Bradley and Ciccozzi voted to reappoint Brilliant in February and later voted to table the ordinance that would have explicitly stripped health benefits from commissioners.

Aber, Coleman and O’Toole opposed Brilliant’s reappointment and voted against tabling the benefits ordinance.

That division has left the underlying benefit structure intact and moved the fight toward the courts.

Rodrick now says litigation is the next step.

If filed, the case could force a judge to answer a question that has lingered inside Toms River government for years: whether the authority can legally provide substantial health benefits to appointed commissioners while township law limits compensation for their service as MUA members.