The Toms River Township Council conducted a heated first reading of an ordinance amending chapter 50 (Department of Law Enforcement) to establish new guidelines for hiring police officers.

The proposed changes, discussed at length at first reading, were described by the administration as intended to broaden the hiring pool by allowing veterans with two years of military service and lateral hires (already-certified officers from other municipalities) to be eligible under streamlined procedures. The mayor and administration speakers said those changes would speed hires and increase the number of available candidates, addressing a statewide decline in applicants.

Several council members said they opposed lowering the long-standing standards. One council member said "the standards have been dropped quite a bit" and announced intention to vote no. Another member said the ordinance "opens us up to police officers being political appointments rather than... qualified police officers," and urged the council to maintain existing qualifications to ensure the "best of the best."

The administration answered that military service, including overseas duty, and experience as a certified officer are valuable qualifications and that the new rules are similar to approaches other departments and the county sheriff's office are adopting in response to a shrinking applicant pool. The mayor said a prior test produced a list of only 13 candidates for a three-year list and cited practical hiring delays that the ordinance aims to reduce.

Council members asked for more detailed language and more time to review before final reading. At least one council member said he would "dive deeper into this" and do homework with administration staff prior to the ordinance's final vote. The item will return for a future meeting's final reading after council review and clarification of the proposed standards.

Why it matters: The ordinance adjusts local hiring criteria for sworn police officers. Changes to hiring standards affect recruitment, departmental composition, and public trust; council members signaled concern about lowering academic or experiential thresholds while the administration emphasized recruitment pragmatism.

Speakers and quotes in this article are drawn from the public record of the council meeting transcript.