Lawsuit: Toms River must reopen animal shelter, make mayor and others pay $1K each

TOMS RIVER - The fight over the fate of Toms River's animal shelter is headed to court.

Phillip Brilliant, one of the committee of petitioners who collected more than 3,000 signatures demanding the repeal of an ordinance leasing the animal shelter to Ocean County, filed the complaint in Ocean County Superior Court.

The complaint asks for a judge to order the repeal of an Aug. 7 resolution by which the township agreed to enter a shared services agreement with the county to take over the Oak Avenue shelter. The shelter has been closed since June 6, and its employees were laid off, except for Dave Matthews, the most senior animal control officer.

The complaint also seeks to compel the township to reopen the animal shelter and rehire all staff, order Toms River to place a referendum on the November ballot on the animal shelter ordinance, and force the township to pay all court costs.

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It also asks a judge to make all the defendants — including Mayor Daniel Rodrick, Business Administrator Jon Salonis, Acting Clerk Stephen Hensel, township attorneys Gregory P. McGuckin and Peter Pascarella and township council members Craig Coleman, Lynn O'Toole, George Lobman and Justin Lamb — pay $1,000 each to support the animal shelter.

Pascarella responded to Brilliant's complaint with a letter calling the action "frivolous" and asking Brilliant to withdraw it.

Both the lawsuit and the township's response can be seen at the bottom of this story.

He noted that the council repealed the ordinance mentioned in Brilliant's complaint, replacing the lease agreement with a shared services agreement that can be approved by resolution.

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"Once the Committee of Petitioners filed the referendum petition, the ordinance authorizing the lease of the Toms River Animal Shelter to the Ocean County Board of Health was suspended from taking effect," Pascarella wrote. "Moreover, as you acknowledge in paragraph 36 of your verified complaint, the Township Council voted Aug. 7, 2024, to repeal said ordinance. Accordingly, you have failed to articulate any violation of the law by defendants."

He said the township will ask the judge to require Brilliant to pay Toms River's legal fees. The township must hire outside counsel as township attorneys McGuckin and Pascarella are named as defendants in the suit.

"It is political, frivolous and it will be thrown out of court," Rodrick said of the complaint. "They have already been granted the relief that they sought. … I have to hire outside counsel that will cost us money. We're not going to pay these legal fees."

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Animal shelter complaint by Dennis Carmody on Scribd

Toms River Response by Dennis Carmody on Scribd

Jean Mikle covers Toms River, Seaside Heights and several other Ocean County towns. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lawsuit: Toms River must reopen animal shelter, make mayor and others pay $1K each