Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Government Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Insurance consultants defend joint-insurance coverage and dispute reported $6 million health‑plan savings
Summary
Connor Strong & Buckalew representatives presented to the Toms River Township Council to rebut media claims about the town’s insurance moves, arguing alternative proposals carried much higher deductibles and that town budget lines show health‑benefit costs rose rather than fell by $6 million.
Joseph Dibella, an executive partner at Connor Strong & Buckalew, told the Toms River Township Council on Jan. 7 that recent press assertions about the town’s insurance decisions and his firm’s conduct were inaccurate and that public documents support his firm’s position. "We are proud taxpayers in Toms River Township," Dibella said, and he asked the council to consider an apples‑to‑apples comparison of coverage before concluding a change produced large savings.
Dibella and his colleague Dave Grubb presented a side‑by‑side comparison of the Ocean County Joint Insurance Fund (OC JIF) coverage and alternatives the township considered. Grubb said two alternative proposals showed nominally lower premiums (one example cited a $48,755 premium difference) but substantially higher deductibles — for example, a property deductible of about $100,000 versus the town’s current $3,500 and a proposed $50,000 general‑liability deductible under one alternative. He said his actuary estimated that those higher deductibles could have produced between roughly $943,000 and $1.2 million in additional claims costs, reversing a superficially cheaper premium into a net cost increase.
Dibella challenged published claims that the town saved $6 million by changing its health plan. Citing the township’s own audited financial statements and budget documents, he said the town’s health‑benefits line item was $14.8 million in the audit and the 2025 budget showed $17.8 million — a difference he described as inconsistent with a $6 million savings claim. "You’re entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts," Dibella said.
Council members and audience members pressed Dibella and Grubb on procurement procedures, whether the town broker had access to claims history, and whether Connor Strong had been invited to bid. Dibella said his firm had not been formally invited by the administration but that JIF proposals and the town’s claims data are a matter of public record under OPRA. He said the specific loss‑history data used by brokers was provided to the broker and to an address identified in the record on Aug. 18 and again on Nov. 10.
The session grew contentious at times: members of the council and the public raised an ongoing office of state comptroller review and media reports about indictments involving individuals associated with firms referenced in the debate. Dibella said municipalities had challenged the office of the state comptroller’s findings in court and reminded the room that legal processes must run before drawing conclusions about individuals.
The council did not take a formal vote on insurance policy at this meeting. Several council members asked the mayor to invite the township’s broker to the next meeting so members could compare the broker’s timeline and documentation directly with the materials presented by Connor Strong.
What’s next: Council agreed to invite the town broker to the next meeting to review claims history and procurement timelines; the insurance matter remains under public discussion and review.
Sources: Presentation and Q&A with Joseph Dibella and Dave Grubb before the Toms River Township Council (Jan. 7, 2026).
