Ambrosio Vows to End MCCUO Ordinance
Toms River Property Owners Threatened by Overly Zealous Inspections
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 31, 2023

Toms River, New Jersey — Toms River First Republican mayoral candidate Geraldine “Geri” Ambrosio has vowed to end Mayor Mo Hill’s invasive home inspection ordinance that has wreaked havoc in the Toms River housing market and funded massive growth in the municipal bureaucracy.

“Our private property rights are under assault in Toms River by big government liberals like Mo Hill who has tripled the size of code enforcement and is sending swarms of inspectors to comb over every inch of every home on the market,” Ambrosio said.  “It’s completely un-American.”

Ambrosio said the MCCUO ordinance which was enacted in 2021 and took effect last summer has suppressed interest in Toms River by realtors and slowed the sales of many homes.

“The central planners in town hall have created a list of absurd mandates that homeowners must meet in order to sell their home,” Ambrosio said.  “And for the privilege of complying, homeowners also have to pay hundreds of dollars in new fees.”

Ambrosio called it a pure money grab to underwrite Hill’s newsletter and his legion of confidential employees.

“Toms River taxpayers are suffering under Biden’s inflationary policies and Murphy’s outrageous cuts to our school budget,” Ambrosio said.  “Now Hill is adding insult to injury by layering on more taxes, more fees, and more bureaucracy.”

Among the edicts that have led to failed home inspections are a lack of “certified” garbage cans, sidewalks free of “tripping hazards,” and house numbers that are “block style,” no larger than 4 inches, feature a “stroke” width of 5/8 of an inch, and made of “reflective material.”

“While Hill obsesses over the ‘stroke width’ of the number on your house, he provides no ambulance service to the people of Ortley Beach,” Ambrosio said.  “After 20 years in town hall he’s completely out of touch with the needs of the community.  It’s time for new leadership from a real Conservative Republican like me,”

Ambrosio went on to contend that the ordinance will also have dramatic consequences for Toms River taxpayers in the future.

“Some buyers who are still interested in Toms River and who are willing to wait while the town inspectors issue a certificate to the seller, are no longer commissioning private home inspections,” Ambrosio said.  “That is going to create a liability burden for the Township that will cost taxpayers millions of dollars in litigation fees and lawsuit damages.”

Ambrosio said neighboring towns have far less invasive ordinances and charge residents a fraction of the fees Toms River now requires and they assume no long-term liability.

“Tho age-old maxim. ‘Let the Buyer Beware’ has served Toms River well,” Ambrosio said.  “This ordinance is fundamentally flawed and that’s exactly why other towns that tried to impose the same heavy-handed approach ultimately repealed those regulations.”

Ambrosio also said she was disappointed in Councilman Dan Rodrick’s changing positions on the ordinance saying that he had a chance to help Councilman Justin Lamb repeal it, but instead sided with HIll and his cronies to preserve the status quo.

“Mo Hill, Matt Lotano, Kevin Geoghegan, and Josh Kopp are no better than big government Democrats who think we need government in every aspect of our lives, but with this ordinance, they’ve created even more problems,” Ambrosio said. “I’ll see that it’s repealed and replaced on Day One of my Administration.”