>Former Mayor David T. Pfund – “There will be no tangible loss of service . . . ” as a direct result of municipal worker layoffs
For those of you who remember the former Mayor saying this, but can’t remember exactly when he said it, it was on May 12, 2010 during a Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Village Council.
Here’s the dialog:
Boyd Loving, 342 South Irving Street, asked when the vote on the 2010 budget will take place and if there will be any additional opportunity for public comments prior to the vote. Mayor Pfund said that any public comments concerning the budget would need to be made this evening and that the vote will take place on June 9, 2010. Any general comments could be made prior to the vote on June 9, 2010 during the public comments portion of that evening’s meeting.
Mr. Loving said that the Village of Ridgewood Reports (Spring 2010) states in part: “The 2010 Introduced Budget is accomplished with the unprecedented support of numerous full-time employee retirements, adjustments to existing collective bargaining agreements and numerous full and part time staff layoffs.” Mr. Loving said that with regard to the “numerous full and part time staff layoffs,” the public has not yet been informed what services the Village is considering cutting. Therefore, he said it was difficult for anyone to comment on the budget. He asked if anyone could indicate at this time what services may be reduced or eliminated so that the public would have a better idea of what is going to happen.
Dr. Gabbert replied that the Village has submitted a layoff plan to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission and it is up to Civil Service to determine the bumping rights of individuals. Where there are vacancies due to either retirement or elimination of positions, the Village plans to have coverage for those responsibilities/positions. Therefore, Dr. Gabbert did not anticipate any elimination of services. He said that there may be different individuals covering services or acting as supervisors in certain areas, but the services provided by the Village should remain essentially the same.
When again questioned by Mr. Loving, Dr. Gabbert replied that since the 2010 budget has been reduced by 2% from the 2009 budget, health insurance premiums have increased by 18%; contractual salaries have increased by 4.3%; and State aid has been reduced, there will obviously be changes within each department since each departmental budget has been pared down. However, he said that the Village still aims to accomplish its “mission” and if there is a shortfall somewhere, then they will rapidly take care of it.
Mayor Pfund added that this is a very difficult year and there will be changes. He said that there will be no “tangible” loss of service such as the elimination of garbage pickup, recycling services, or street cleaning/plowing. However, with the loss of some jobs, other Village personnel will have to “pick up the slack” in their department to maintain adequate levels of service. Mayor Pfund said that most employees are already working at maximum capacity and, therefore, he said that there is a definite possibility that there will be longer wait times in certain departments as a result. Mayor Pfund said that the Village Council will have to see how this progresses in the future and address any problems which occur. He said that an 8.86% tax increase was unacceptable to him and not fair to the taxpayers. He added that he did not even like a 5.16% increase and stated that the Village Council was going to do whatever it can to reduce this tax rate.
Mr. Loving concurred that an 8.86% tax increase would be unfair. He was concerned about the lack of communication to the taxpayers about what they might expect. He said that a number of people had spoken at the April 14, 2010 meeting regarding reductions in the programming for senior citizens and the Community Center. Mayor Pfund said that more will be known after the determination is made by Civil Service regarding bumping rights. Mr. Loving said that although he had not attended the Board of Education meeting on May 10, 2010, he had heard that Councilman Aronsohn had suggested even deeper cuts in the municipal budget in order to preserve the school budget. He asked if this had been considered by the Village Council and if further reductions would impact services. Mayor Pfund said that, in his opinion, the Village Council will be cutting as much as possible, regardless of the school budget, for the sake of the taxpayers and the Village. He said that there have not been any further discussions in this regard.
Mr. Loving said that a lot of people have mentioned that they moved to Ridgewood for the educational system. He said that in the 1970s, he and his family moved to Ridgewood for the same reason but decided to remain in Ridgewood after their children graduated from high school because of the great municipal services which Ridgewood provides. He cautioned the Village Council to be very careful about which reductions are made because if municipal services are reduced, he predicted that many people whose children are no longer in school will leave Ridgewood. Echoing Mr. Cirillo’s comments, Mr. Loving concluded by saying that it is not “all about” the schools and that there are other considerations as well. He thanked the Village Council for their time. Mayor Pfund thanked Mr. Loving for his comments.
Councilman Killion commented that the Village Council has a choice between raising taxes and making cuts. He said that there was no easy answer and this year will be difficult. He said that it will be even more difficult in 2011 if the proposed 2.5% tax levy cap is passed. Councilman Killion remarked that there is no way that the Village can possibly provide the level of service it does now if that tax levy cap is passed. Mr. Loving said that he understood that cuts need to be made but stated that he was more concerned about the lack of communication to the taxpayers. He said that the Board of Education did a very good job in terms of explaining exactly what their cuts would be. He said that right now, no one knows anything as far as the municipal budget is concerned.
