TOMS RIVER, NJ – Lives and property are at risk in Toms River. That’s what Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill claims this week after two council members blocked a $14 million line of credit. That line of credit would have given Hill enough funding to get Downtown Toms River ready for a major planned expansion and some leftover money to purchase ten new police cars and one new ambulance.
After being rejected by Councilman Daniel Rodrick and Justin Lamb, Hill lashed out claiming lives will be at risk.
Rodrick said Hill’s tax and spend policy is extreme, adding that the town routinely replaces vehicles with low mileage.
“Mayor Hill buys new cars and trucks when the ones we have, have about 60,000 miles on them,” Rodrick said. “Most Americans can’t even get a new car at this time. The township even has its own mechanics on staff to maintain those vehicles. Mayor Hill just bought Ford Broncos for the code inspectors. Hill’s out-of-control spending is absolutely ridiculous.”
“The political grandstanding…is putting lives and property at risk,” Hill declared.
Hill did not explain his warning of how lives are at risk after he was denied funding for the Downtown Project. He did not say which lives are at risk and how those lives could be saved in the future if his funding proposal is not approved.
Art Gallagher, spokesman for Mayor Mo Hill, who also works on the political campaign for Hill’s re-election bid today, said the mayor stands behind his statement. Gallagher denied the notion that Hill’s comment was sensationalized fear-mongering during an election cycle.
“If you can’t see how not buying ten new police cars and one ambulance is not putting lives at risk, then you’re not as smart as I thought you were,” Gallagher responded.
Gallagher later said there is no imminent threat of loss of life, but that over the course of ten years, lives could be at risk if the police department did not receive the ten vehicles. He added that Hill’s proposal put Rodrick in a political pickle because he can now be branded as “anti-police” in the upcoming campaign.
Because of that, Hill will not split the funding requests into two bond ordinances splitting the life-saving emergency services funding from the downtown development funding.
When asked if Mayor Hill would reintroduce the bond ordinance separating emergency services from infrastructure projects, Gallagher said, “Why should he?”
Instead, Gallagher said the mayor intends to reintroduce the $14.7 million request at a future council meeting to force Rodrick and Lamb’s hand in the ongoing political theater surrounding the June primary election between Rodrick and Hill.
Councilman Justin Lamb said the bulk of the funding was slated for a “Downtown Loop” and other projects necessary for the anticipated influx of people in and out of the downtown area faster. It also included funding that would have raised low-lying roads in the district and improved drainage, as the area is currently prone to flooding, which could hinder the project’s future. That claim was disputed by Council President Matt Lotano.
A message sent to Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little regarding the deadly risks facing residents in light of the council decision was not responded to by spokeswoman Jillian Messina.
The funding denial pushes back Hill’s plan to build two ten-story apartment buildings and other future development projects in the downtown area. Gallagher said millions of dollars in federal funding to upgrade the downtown loop are at risk too.
That funding would improve Herflicker Road, prone to severe flooding over the decades.
“We’re fixing a 30-year problem here, and Rodrick and Lamb voted no,” Gallagher said.
This week, Rodrick slammed Hill in a campaign mailer that went to residents concerned about Hill’s plan to build higher buildings and apartments in Downtown Toms River. In a recent interview with Toms River Shorebeat, Hill said ‘going vertical is inevitable‘ in the downtown village.
A campaign mailer sent to residents regarding Mo Hill’s downtown development project sent out by Councilman Daniel Rodrick.
A majority of residents polled by Shore News Network oppose Hill’s plan to build larger in Toms River. In a recent poll by Shore News Network, residents said they would like to see a development plan, but not one as extreme as Hill’s proposed plan.