Toms River council dumps mayor's plan to privatize animal control

TOMS RIVER - The Township Council rejected a plan to privatize animal control here, voting to table a resolution that would have hired a Howell company to pick up stray cats and dogs.

The council chose to indefinitely table a resolution that would have appointed A-Academy Termite & Pest Control to deal with Toms River's stray animals. The company would have replaced the township's four animal control officers, who also work at Toms River's animal shelter, and was supported by Mayor Daniel Rodrick.

"I think we should table this for more consideration," Councilman Thomas Nivison said. "Termite and pest control? That is exterminators in my book. … I know animal control officers do an excellent job."

"I have to go with my heart on this one too," Council Vice President Lynn O'Toole said. "I am going to vote to table this also."

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The council tabled the resolution following impassioned pleas by several residents, including two animal control officers.

Some questioned A-Academy's ability to handle Toms River's animal control needs, noting the company already provides similar services to eight other towns, including Long Beach Township and Little Egg Harbor. Stafford briefly hired the company after losing two of its animal control officers in 2022, but then switched back to in-house animal control shortly afterwards after repeated complaints by residents.

"There was an outcry from their citizens," said Allen Albano, a Toms River animal control officer who previously worked in Stafford. "The service took a major step backwards. … The outcry from the public regarding public safety, above all else, was their main concern."

Albano said A-Academy only has two animal control officers to handle the eight towns it covers, and residents complained of waiting up to two hours for an animal control officer to arrive. The company also doesn't handled injured or ill wildlife, which are picked up now by Toms River animal control, he said.

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"Privatizing animal control means no oversight and no transparency for our animals," said Toms River resident Susan Kearney. "These are pest control companies, there are many that have horrible reputations. … Please, please, let’s keep our animal control officers with the town, it is the best for the animals."

The council did agree to a lease agreement with the Ocean County Board of Health for Toms River's animal shelter, the first step toward having the county take over shelter operations here.

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The township will lease the Oak Avenue shelter for $1 a year to the county. Rodrick has argued that the county will do a better job getting animals adopted than the Toms River shelter, although opponents of the county taking over the shelter claim Ocean County has a higher euthanasia rate than Toms River's shelter.

Toms River is one of only four towns in New Jersey to have its own shelter.

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 animal control won't be privatized as council rejects mayor