Toms River Animal Shelter (Source: Toms River Township)
Toms River has finalized an agreement with the Ocean County Health Department for the takeover of the township’s municipal animal shelter, however officials said Wednesday there was no definitive timeline for its reopening – but it is likely to be measured in months rather than days or weeks.
The shelter has been closed since Mayor Dan Rodrick announced the plan to have the county take over the shelter. Shortly thereafter, employees of the shelter were laid off and the building was locked, with the animals having been moved to one of the county’s two existing shelters in Stafford Township or Jackson. The township’s annual operating budget did not include funding for shelter operations in 2024-25.
Political wrangling over the shakeup has delayed what Rodrick initially expected to be a smooth transition. The township council first passed an ordinance to establish the county takeover, but a group of residents formed a committee to recall the ordinance. With a successful recall, the ordinance was never adopted on second reading, and the governing body instead fashioned the agreement by passing a resolution, which is not subject to the state’s recall law. In the wake of that decision, resident Phil Brilliant – who has been a vocal opponent of Rodrick, and led the effort to recall the ordinance – filed a lawsuit which is still under judicial review.
Earlier this month, Superior Court Judge Robert Brenner ruled that Toms River should not have a referendum vote on the recalled ordinance because the ordinance had already been repealed. Further, he agreed with the township’s attorneys who stated the municipal government is under no obligation to run a shelter and the state has encouraged shared services agreements between municipalities and counties. Brenner did, however, order that a $1 million donation from a deceased resident should be monitored and tracked. He also said the courts could become more deeply involved in the case if the shelter is not opened in a reasonable amount of time. Brilliant will have the opportunity to appeal the decision if he wishes to do so, however the trial court will continue to monitor developments.
“The shared services agreement is complete,” said Rodrick. “As far as the extended period of time, if [the lawsuit] had not taken place, it would have been done already.”
Rodrick said the shared services agreement between the township and county was drawn up with the input of Township Attorney Gregory P. McGuckin and Ocean County Board of Health attorney James Holzapfel. The agreement, the details of which Shorebeat will examine for a separate article, calls for the county to renovate the shelter. The renovations, and the ultimate implementation of the county takeover, have thus far not commenced due to the pending lawsuit.
“There is an agreement as far as the renovations are concerned,” said Rodrick. “They have to be done to bring it up to code in regard to state statutes, and that will be done.”
Rodrick said there was no estimated date for when the shelter would reopen under county management, however “it would have been six or eight months less” in waiting time if not for the recall and litigation.
