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Reader says Outsourcing may be appropriate in some cases. But, that is not necessarily a panacea

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Reader says Outsourcing may be appropriate in some cases. But, that is not necessarily a panacea.

People… Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It is not just about decisions that this or the previous council made.

It is definitely not about snow removal.

It is not about the 2010 reduction in village staffing in a few unfortunate departments (employee-related liabilities have dramatically increased, NOT decreased).

Read the Financial Advisory Committee report that was posted to the Village website a while back. It is eye-opening and spells out very clearly the situation that has developed over decades and is totally unsustainable, without thoughtful (but dramatic) cultural and management changes across ALL village departments.

Outsourcing may be appropriate in some cases. But, that is not necessarily a panacea.

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12 thoughts on “Reader says Outsourcing may be appropriate in some cases. But, that is not necessarily a panacea

  1. Simple really.
    We cannot fund sustained medical increases, pension increases, and salary increases.
    It would be prudent if the unions proposed shifting the costs of the medical benefits to the members.
    The town should offer a bare-bones plan, and if the members want a Cadillac plan, they can contribute to it. The days of $5 dollar copays are over.

  2. It is a must that municipal employees pay more if you want cradle to grave care ten move to Sweden,and it is still not cheap.

  3. The report was submitted in Jan, 2013, over a year ago (BTW, it is indeed an eye-opening and thoughtful piece).

    Have any of its many recommendations been implemented?

  4. the report says the village should not have a paid fire dept.

  5. First of all the report does not say the village should not have a paid fire dept. I have read the Financial Advisory Committee report and it contains inaccurate data, false assumptions and more important than those it has incomplete data. The people complaining about high taxes here are only telling half of the story. You don’t hear those people complaining about the higher salaries they earn here than in other states do you? And of course they are not complaining of the high property values either especially when they are going up! By a percentage ratio N.J. residents pay a similar percentage of their homes value in property taxes when compared to other parts of the country.

    The state of NJ and specifically the Village provides more services (like garbage pickup, recreation services for kids, local police & Fire services, assistance and social services for seniors, just to name a few) and an overall better quality of life for the tax dollars than most of the other states. When you look at the complete picture you see those who are complaining about property taxes are focusing on only one thing and not giving you the complete picture.

  6. The big drain on taxes is the school budget.
    Increase class sizes to the 30 students that we had in the 1970’s.
    You can eliminate many teaching positions that way.
    If your kid needs ‘hand holding’ hire a tutor.
    Problem fixed.

  7. It still amazes my with people complaining about taxes everyone chooses to ignore the BOE and their 90million + budget that is almost double the municipal budget and no one except #6 above ever brings it up. People pay for a paid fire dept because they want one. People who can choose where they live move to Ridgewood because they want to, they like service, safety, and schools, these things cost money. If you don’t like what the teachers, cops, firemen, make, MOVE, where there is no high school, no local police force , no sanitation, well water, volunteer fire dept. and a part time dpw, you will pay way less tax, all you pay for is a local elementary school and a part time road crew. You can find municipalities like this without leaving New Jersey.

  8. That’s patently false. Read it here {https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2013FinancialAdvisoryReportFINAL.pdf} and tell me where it says that ?


    Anonymous:

    the report says the village should not have a paid fire dept.

  9. That’s right, blame the teachers. Clearly they need to reduce the growth in their budget, too. But the Village doesn’t run the BoE and this post is about Village services.


    Anonymous:

    The big drain on taxes is the school budget.Increase class sizes to the 30 students that we had in the 1970′s.You can eliminate many teaching positions that way.If your kid needs ‘hand holding’ hire a tutor.Problem fixed.

  10. Ridgewood does not equal NJ, so saying NJ residents pay a similar ratio in property taxes does not mean Ridgewood residents don’t pay a much higher ratio (2.36% in 2013) on mich higher average home values. Why do you continue to blur the picture by making false comparasions ? The FAC report is a great basis for debate, but you just discredit, discredit, discredit. Speaking about not telling half of the story, what have you got to gain by discrediting the FAC report and anyone asking for higher doctors’ visit and drug co-pays from our current and former employees ?


    Anonymous:

    First of all the report does not say the village should not have a paid fire dept. I have read the Financial Advisory Committee report and it contains inaccurate data, false assumptions and more important than those it has incomplete data. By a percentage ratio N.J. residents pay a similar percentage of their homes value in property taxes when compared to other parts of the country.

  11. I think ridgewood should make a north jersey fire dept.


  12. anonymous:

    That’s right, blame the teachers. Clearly they need to reduce the growth in their budget, too. But the Village doesn’t run the BoE and this post is about Village services.

    blockquote>
    Ok I will. They get Cadillac health care plans. Lots of time off. And 75% of my tax bill is for the SCHOOLS.

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