Toms River mayor says summer fireworks shows could help benefit all businesses in town
The mayor has requested 10 fireworks shows in town this summer or he will dissolve the Downtown Business Improvement District’s board.
Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick is firing back at the Downtown Business Improvement District’s board after they said he threatened to dissolve it if he didn’t get 10 fireworks shows for the town.
His response comes as the BID board sent the mayor and Toms River Council a letter reaffirming the budget originally passed back in November, without the added fireworks expenses Rodrick requested. In a statement to News 12, Rodrick defends the request and criticizes the board. He said the BID is a private entity that only benefits a few downtown stores.
"The BID is a private entity that taxes over 200 businesses. All the revenue goes to salaries and their building. The events they do only benefit a few stores on Washington Street. That’s not fair,” Rodrick wrote. “We’ve encouraged them to put on firework shows on Friday nights in summer because we believe that will supercharge commerce for all businesses south of Route 37. The BID has failed to revitalize downtown; if they do not change, we will dissolve them.”
The board said those expenses would be well over $100,000 for 10 shows and they would potentially take legal action if their budget were not included on the council's next agenda.
