Toms River Council Shifts Meetings To 1 Per Month For 2024

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Township Council will meet once a month under the meeting schedule approved Monday at the council's reorganization meeting.

The meetings also will begin an hour later than they have in the past, starting at 7 p.m.

"We moved the meeting to 7 p.m. to make it more convenient for residents to attend," Mayor Daniel Rodrick said.

As for the move to one meeting a month, he said "The Hill administration was constantly creating new ordinances. We believe in the principles of smaller government, so one meeting a month is all we will need to pay the bills and handle regular business."

"Should we need to act quickly on a matter, we will notice and add a meeting," Rodrick said.

He said officials are working on a way to allow residents to participate in meetings from their homes, similar to what happened during the pandemic. Meetings are livestreamed on YouTube for residents to watch.

At the reorganization meeting, Councilmen James Quinlisk and David Ciccozzi — who both voted no on the consent agenda, including the council meeting dates, saying they had not had time to review them — criticized the idea of moving to one meeting a month, saying it hinders transparency and public input.

Toms River, the second-largest town in Ocean County, will be one of a handful to meet just once a month. The Lakewood Township Committee, Brick Township Council and Jackson Township Council each hold two meetings per month. The Berkeley Township Council and Barnegat Township Committee meet once a month, but both towns are significantly smaller than Toms River.

The Toms River Regional Board of Education holds meetings open to the public twice a month. The entire board participates in committees of the whole on the second Wednesday of the month and the business meeting on the third Wednesdays. Questions from the public are accepted at both.

The Toms River Township Council 2024 meeting dates scheduled are as follows:

• Jan. 31
• Feb. 28
• March 27
• April 24
• May 22
• June 26
• July 24
• Aug. 28
• Sept. 25
• Oct. 23
• Nov. 13
• Dec. 18