'Fools go it alone': Two of new Toms River mayor's appointees quit after month on the job

TOMS RIVER - Toms River's new business administrator, as well as his assistant, have both resigned after just a month on the job, Mayor Daniel Rodrick confirmed, and the assistant's departure comes with bitter words from both sides.

Jon Salonis, a political consultant who had been serving as communications director in Carteret, has become acting business administrator, pending an official appointment, the mayor said. Salonis, a long-time Rodrick ally, had been appointed as recreation director at the Jan. 1 organization meeting of the township council, when Rodrick first took office.

Salonis replaces Scott Tirella, a former Lacey police lieutenant, who had been hired Jan. 1 at a $165,000 salary. Rodrick said that Tirella never intended to stay long as administrator, and added that the job's workload had taken Tirella by surprise.

He said Salonis' salary has not yet been set, but would be considerably less than that of Lou Amoruso, who served as administrator under former Mayor Maurice B. "Mo" Hill Jr. Amoruso made more than $200,000.

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Under Toms River's strong mayor and council form of government, the business administrator acts like a chief of staff, preparing the township's budget and supervises all purchasing, as well as numerous departments, including the Department of Law, Personnel and Information Technology.

Tirella's assistant, former Toms River police Lt. Loring Dunton, also resigned, saying in a Facebook post that during his time in town hall, he "witnessed a scorched earth campaign unlike anything I have ever seen."

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"Thoughtful governance was never a guiding principle nor was a search for what was best for the citizens of Toms River," Dunton said. "Great leaders seek the advice of subject matter experts to help understand that which they do not know, so as to make smart and thoughtful decisions for the betterment of all stake holders. Fools go it alone."

In his Facebook post, Dunton said, "Decisions about organizational structure need to be thoughtfully planned and not based on political musings." He was referring to the mayor and council majority's controversial plan to eliminate two police captains' positions through attrition to pay for the hiring of eight new community service officers, who are emergency medical technicians.

Rodrick said he did not have much interaction with Dunton, who he described as Tirella's secretary. "I guess he has a lot of allegiance to those folks," Rodrick said of the men and women in the township's police department. Police and their supporters staged protests against the proposed cuts this week.

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Rodrick has said cutting the captains' jobs would save about $700,000, making up the majority of the nearly $1 million needed to fund the EMTs. Captains are paid more than $230,000, and the township also pays for their pensions and health benefits.

"I question his business savvy," Rodrick said of Dunton, who worked as a vice president of a company after he retired from the police force. "I wasn't impressed. It is no loss. The township is glad to see him go."

Rodrick said no date has been set for a special township council meeting after the Jan. 31 virtual meeting, plagued by technical glitches, was abruptly ended after an attendee began spouting antisemitic remarks. Five hundred people — the Zoom meeting's capacity — were on Zoom when the meeting was ended, and more than 700 were watching on the township's YouTube channel.

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The capacity limit barred Councilman George Lobman from signing into the meeting for more than 20 minutes, forcing him to miss several votes.

The meeting ended before the council had a chance to vote on the ordinance to eliminate the two captains' jobs, and also before council members could vote to pay the township's bills. With the next regular council meeting not scheduled until Feb. 28, the governing body will likely have to hold a special session to pay bills, and likely to vote on the police ordinance.

Toms River Councilmen David Ciccozzi and James Quinlisk both objected to holding the meeting on Zoom, saying it should have been moved to a larger facility, such as the auditorium at Toms River High School North.

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Rodrick said he was disgusted by the antisemitic remarks made by the anonymous meeting attendee, who continued talking even after the mayor and Council President Craig Coleman called for him to be muted.

"Unless the person was using VPN, we will be able to identify who, what and where," Rodrick said, saying he is launching an investigation into the matter. "We're not sure if a crime has been committed. We're looking into that."

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and writes about issues related to Superstorm Sandy. 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: Toms River mayor's picks for administrator, assistant quit after month