December 10,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, As previously reported by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog ; Earlier this year, the Village’s CFO, Robert G. Rooney, became aware that a portion of the Village’s Parking Utility revenues associated with use of the Parkmobile smart phone application at Village owned and operated parking facilities (said to be 21 cents of every 1 dollar), were being withheld from the Village by Parkmobile USA, Inc.
Upon further investigation, Mr. Rooney determined that a 2-year contract, with an option for a 2 year renewal, signed by former Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld entitled Parkmobile USA, Inc. to retain this revenue. The total amount of Parking Utility revenue withheld from the Village by Parkmobile USA, Inc. since the contract’s inception is reported to be over $200K.
Following discussions with Mr. Rooney and Village Manager Heather Mailander, Ridgewood Mayor Susan Knudsen requested a review of all Village Council meeting minutes and Village Council approved Resolutions associated with discussions and approval of the Village’s relationship with Parkmobile USA, Inc.
During the aforementioned review process, it was determined that at no time had a public discussion taken place concerning any monetary obligations on the Village’s part in connection with integration of Parkmobile USA, Inc.’s smart phone application into the Village’s Parking Utility system.
Furthermore, Resolution #15-52, approved unanimously by Village Council members on February 11, 2015 specifically states: “. . . there is no additional service or contract fee for the Village of Ridgewood; and WHEREAS, Parkmobile USA , Inc. will provide this service at no cost to the Village of Ridgewood, and shall not charge the Village of Ridgewood any costs for the integration of its system(s) or for the management of the project and services;.”
At a public meeting of the Village Council held on Wednesday, December 6, 2017, Village Council members directed Village Manager Heather Mailander to formally notify Parkmobile USA, Inc. that the Village would not be renewing its contract with them.
The staff of The Ridgewood Blog will keep you informed of any further developments in this matter as related information is made public.
So either the fix or cover up is underway or a real investigation shall begin..
Notifying the vendor of non continuation nor extention is just a negotiation
ploy ;a valid starting point , but not an end.Who knew what and when?
What the hell is being done to hold those responsible for this misrepresentation ,,meantime the commuters got screwed over and over again on rates and cash was moving under the gunwhales as standard operating fiasco..who is being held responsible for this misgovernance..
who in the current administration approved this vendors withholding of village revenues ,,how long was this fact known perhaps over a year? and covered up?Tip of iceberg..full VOR AUDIT NEEDED…
Roberta and the FAC
Roberta, a chronic disease that afflicted our fair village and we are still bleeding
Opinion: Resident Commends Former Village Manager On Her Many Accomplishments
Albert PucciarelliI said he trusts Roberta Sonenfeld’s description of the, ‘contentious work environment’ she worked in.
By Daniel Hubbard, Patch Staff | Sep 9, 2016 9:59 am ET | Updated Sep 10, 2016 11:27 am ET
Opinion: Resident Commends Former Village Manager On Her Many Accomplishments
To the Editor:
Having worked closely as a Ridgewood councilman and deputy mayor with Roberta Sonenfeld, our former village manager, I commend her for her intellectual ability, patience, and accomplishments that include: The lowest rate of tax increases in anyone’s memory, effective reorganization of village government, ability to motivate employees to accomplish tasks, such as the most efficient leaf removal ever experienced in our town, open and regular communication with our citizens, and her willingness to speak truthfully, without fear of reprisal.
I trust her description of the “contentious work environment” as honest and accurate.
Sincerely,
Albert J. Pucciarelli
Ridgewood
Do we need to set powerful alarm clocks through out the Council meeting areas as well as the Court used for town-wide meetings? Somehow, we need our elected members to stay awake and alert during all their meetings. Thank heavens we have a Financial manager but this should never have been allowed to happen. Why was Roberta’s version left in effect when this council agreed to an entirely different agreement BEFORE the money started being taken. Did we have to write them a check for the parking, or do they write us one. Please do not pay them one red cent, or cancel the contract now and somehow try to get the excess money back as it was obtained by fraud (?). We are assuming they can’t automatically get at the money themselves. Also, what about firing all these extra parking people hired “because our people weren’t trained”? How did that get by? We do not hire brainless parking people (as clearly shown by the actions of “Meter Man”.
In answer to the question posed by 3:47 pm, they write us the checks. The money goes directly to them because it’s paid by the user via credit or debit card through their app. We got screwed big time.
4:25 I’m still confused. How did the Parking company get the extra percentage? Presumably they got the meter earnings but that would not have included the extra percentage. And how did they get the money to write the checks? Do all of our meters have a direct electronic route to send the money to them? It looks like somebody in the Village offices had to responsible for directly sending them the extra percentage.