Defeated Republican gets patronage appointment

Al Manforti 's consolation prize for losing his re-election race last year is appointment to the Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority.

The Republican-majority Township Council named him to the post last week. When a citizen questioned Manforti's appointment at the council meeting, Councilman "Mo" Hill said "Can we have security? His five minutes (speaking time) are up." A township police officer approached the speaker, who then sat back down.

The MUA's executive director, secretary and treasurer is former Brick mayor Stephen Acropolis, a Republican. According to online news site Shorebeat, Brick Democrats were "swept into office out of public frustration with patronage scandals that made headlines while Republicans controlled the mayor’s office and council. Most notably, former Mayor Stephen Acropolis hired a Toms River GOP official, Juan Bellu, as the township’s deputy business administrator, around the same time Acropolis was hired as executive director of the Toms River MUA, where Bellu served as a commissioner." (Bellu's business partner was also a commissioner.)

The 2018 MUA budget (http://tomsrivermua.org/financials/budgets.html) shows that commissioners receive as much as $33,214 per year in salary and benefits. Council members receive annual salaries of $8,920 and can also receive health benefits.

More "swampy" details were reported by the Asbury Park Press: https://www.app.com/story/news/politics/ocean-county/2018/05/27/former-toms-river-councilman-gets-municipal-utilities-authority-appointment/642708002/