>Officials call Ridgewood water rate hike ‘inappropriate’
Monday, November 8, 2010
BY JODI WEINBERGER
Wyckoff Suburban News
Of Suburban News
https://www.northjersey.com/community/events/106889153_Officials_deem_proposed_5_percent_rate_hike__inappropriate__.html
The Village of Ridgewood is expected to introduce an ordinance Wednesday, Nov. 10, authorizing a 5 percent water rate hike in 2011 for residents its water company serves in Wyckoff, Midland Park and Glen Rock.
The action follows a 21 percent increase in the water rate in 2010, which Wyckoff is contesting in court.
The towns learned by letter last month that the water company was raising the water rate by 3 percent above a projected increase of 2 percent. The news triggered a meeting on Thursday, Oct. 28, among officials representing Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff.
The meeting was not open to the public, but sentiment about the prospect of another increase was uniform among officials of the three neighboring municipalities.
“Frankly, we think it’s inappropriate and unwarranted,” Midland Park Mayor Joseph Monahan said.
In the letter dated Wednesday, Oct. 20, to Midland Park Borough Administrator Michelle Dugan, Ridgewood Village manager Kenneth Gabbert said “the utility will be moving forward with its capital plans. These capital projects require a down payment, which must be included in the operating budget.”
The letter states improvements to a tank in Wyckoff and the installation of radio-read water meters will impact future budgets.
Wyckoff filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the township, Glen Rock and Midland Park against the village in the summer protesting the 2010 water rate hike of 21 percent.
“We don’t feel they [Ridgewood officials] provided proper justification for the 21 percent increase that they imposed on rate payers a year ago, so clearly we don’t feel that an additional 5 to 15 percent is justified,” Wyckoff Mayor Rudolf Boonstra said, adding that township officials haven’t discussed the prospect at length because the rate hike has not been finalized. “We don’t want to speculate on something that hasn’t happened yet.”
Former Wyckoff Mayor and Hackensack attorney Joseph Fiorenzo, who is representing Wyckoff pro bono, said the additional 5 percent rate hike “would certainly become object of the ongoing legal proceeding.”
“As I understand, Ridgewood continues to do the same thing to justify this, which is asking the rate payers to effectively subsidize the Village of Ridgewood’s operating budget by imposing upon the rate payers significant operating costs of the Village of Ridgewood in the form of overhead costs, police salaries, pensions and the village manager’s salary,” Fiorenzo said in an interview Thursday, Nov. 4. “All of these things are part of the justifications which are completely without any legal basis.”
With the proposed increases, the water rate would be $4.20 per 1,000 gallons. Nearby water utilities charge as much as $4.79 per 1,000 gallons, according to Ridgewood officials.
full story:
https://www.northjersey.com/community/events/106889153_Officials_deem_proposed_5_percent_rate_hike__inappropriate__.html
