We have just held a primary election for governor in New Jersey, as well as for many legislative, county and local seats.
This is a time to reflect upon the property tax problems of the state of New Jersey, and I felt it would be a good time to write about some of my thoughts in this area.
I have my own view of what makes government so expensive in New Jersey versus other states from the bottom up.
I’ve had the opportunity to look extensively at municipal government services and costs, as well as those of county government. I’ve had the opportunity also to compare municipalities and counties here in New Jersey against those in other states in a benchmarking sense.
I preface these comments with the reminder that about 70 percent or 75 percent of your local property taxes are school taxes. I do not have significant experience in this area, so my comments are focused on municipal and county government structures and costs.
If you think about it, property taxes are by their very nature an anachronism. Most persons living on a piece of land today do not produce revenue from the land itself, as we did when we were an agrarian society in the 1600s and 1700s, when this system was created. Yes, it is that old. In fact, I think feudal societies worked similarly as well.
#11 Ridgewood | $11,179 County: Bergen Avg. total residential property tax: $17,180 Property tax breakdown: County 11% | School 65% | Municipal 24%
These 30 towns have the highest school tax bills in N.J.
Updated June 07, 2017
Posted June 07, 2017
By Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
TRENTON — If your property taxes are high in New Jersey, chances are a good chunk of your annual bill is going to your local public schools.
New Jersey residents paid nearly $15 billion in school taxes as part of their property tax bills last year, according to data released by the state Department of Community Affairs.
Most residents’ property tax bills are made up of three parts: a county tax, a municipal tax and a school tax. Last year, school taxes accounted for about 52 percent of the average New Jersey property tax bill, according to the data.
In most cases, the money directly funded a local school district. In some smaller communities without their own schools, including Loch Arbour in Monmouth County, the money was used to pay tuition to send local students to neighboring public school districts.
The towns that have the highest average school tax bills are usually wealthier communities where property values are the highest. These towns generally fund a large share of their school expenses because they don’t receive significant state aid.
Here are the 30 New Jersey towns where residents paid the highest average school taxes in 2016:
High school coach crams house with foreign ringers in squalid scandal
What started as a few probing questions about a suspicious New Jersey high school basketball program has become an investigation by federal immigration authorities.
New Jersey’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office — a division of the Department of Homeland Security — has opened a new investigation of Paterson Eastside’s hoops programs, according to NJ Advance Media. ICE officials are concentrating on how the program has been fed international players over the past six years and how the teenagers came — or were trafficked — to New Jersey.
Four months ago, NJ Advance Media reported players from Africa, South America and Puerto Rico had been brought stateside to play for Eastside’s teams since at least 2011, and that boys coach Juan Griles was housing — but apparently barely feeding — at least six of them. With the school district unable to issue proper immigration documents, they’re all at risk of deportation.
Glen Rock NJ, a Glen Rock reader point this out to us ,well I guess you are not the only one according to the the Glen Rock Police Dept they received two automated calls in the past hour indicating that the IRS had issued an arrest warrant for us. We were told to call a 908 area code phone number (which we did….) and spoke with several males with Indian accents. Please help spread the word that these calls are scams trying to scare people into paying money. If we received two calls to our department line, we are sure other Glen Rock area residents are receiving them as well. The IRS or any police agency will never issue warrants to people over the telephone and would never require any type of bail money to be paid via Western Union or other wire service. Help educate others and avoid becoming a victim.
Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meeting Act
MAYOR: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided
by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall,
by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
Roll Call
RESOLUTIONS
THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTIONS, NUMBERED 17-144 THROUGH 17-145 ARE TO BE ADOPTED BY A CONSENT AGENDA, WITH ONE VOTE BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL. THERE IS A BRIEF DESCRIPTION BESIDE EACH RESOLUTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. EACH RESOLUTION WILL BE READ BY TITLE ONLY:
17-144 Authorize Renewal of Intent to Participate in Community Development Block Grant Program, HOME Investment Partnership Act Program, and Emergency Solutions Grant – Renews the Village’s intent to participate in these programs for the Program Years 2018 – 2020
17-145 Authorize Execution of Agreement for Participation in the Community Development Block Grant Program, the Home Investment Partnership Program, and the Emergency Solutions Grant Program – Authorizes the Mayor and Village Clerk to execute an Agreement which will commit the Village to participate in the Community Development Block Grant Program, the Home Investment Partnership Program, and the Emergency Solutions Grant Program for the Program Years 2018, 2019, and 2020
Adjournment
VILLAGE COUNCIL PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S
PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA
JUNE 7, 2017
7:30 P.M.
REVISED
7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
Roll Call – Village Clerk
Flag Salute/Moment of Silence
Swearing in of Fire Fighter Dane Knudsen
Swearing in of Fire Fighter Shelby Taylor
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 3 Minutes per Person – 40 Minutes in Total)
Presentation
Ridgewood Conservancy for Ridgewood Public Lands – Butterfly/Sensory Garden at the Stable
Motion to Suspend Work Session and Convene Special Public Meeting
Special Public Meeting – See Attached Agenda
Motion to Adjourn Special Public Meeting and Reconvene Work Session
Discussion
Ridgewood Water
Improvements to Booster/Transfer Stations
Award of Contract – Design and Construction of GAC Treatment System at Carr Treatment Facility
Parking
Central Valet Services Proposal
Steilen Avenue Parking c. Budget
Refund of Taxes – Disabled Veteran
Resolution Urging Extension of 2% Cap on Police and Fire Arbitration Contract Awards
Renovation of Graydon Pool Restrooms
Revenue Expense Report – April 30, 2017
On-Call Traffic Engineering Services Proposal
Parking Kiosk Pilot Study Proposal
Award of State Contract – Furniture for Village Hall
Policy
Boards and Committees
Train Station Parking Lot & Garber Square Bike Lane
Amendment to Power Tool Ordinance
Update on The Estate Card
Clinton Avenue Ordinance
Historic Preservation Grant Proposal through Bergen County Open Space – Zabriskie-Schedler House – Phase II
FOP Awareness Initiative
Prevention of Unlawful Enrollment of Children in Ridgewood Schoolse. Operations
Shared Services Agreement – Dewatered Sludge Disposal – Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Updating Master Plan
New Jersey Transit Senior Bus Grant Release13. Review of June 14, 2017 Regular Public Meeting Agenda15. Council Reports17. Resolution to go into Closed Session A. Legal – COAH; Valley Hospital; Unauthorized Disclosure of Attorney-Client Information – Employment Resumes; HealthBarn C. Personnel – Boards and Committees Liaisons19. Adjournment
B. Contracts/Negotiations –
18. Closed Session
16. Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
14. Manager’s Report
In Family Studies Happiness Studies Health Studies Psychological Studies Relationship Studies
EAST LANSING, Mich. — We may have less time to spend with friends as we get older, but that doesn’t mean that close companionship becomes any less important to our well-being. That’s because our social circle has a greater impact on our health and well-being than family does, a new study finds.
Researchers at Michigan State University conducted two separate, yet related studies, hoping to find the empirical value of friendship.
A new study finds that friendship is important to our health and well-being as we age than relationships with family members.
The first study analyzed a survey that provided self-reported measures of health and happiness from over 270,000 participants of all ages worldwide. Meanwhile, the second study derived its data on relationships and chronic illness from a survey of nearly 7,500 American adults.
Via the first study, the researchers found that both having healthy relations with family and friends were determinants of good health and happiness in general, but friendship alone was seen to be a solid predictor of positive overall health at later ages.
Ridgewood NJ, The New Jersey Choral Society is holding auditions for its youth choruses, treble and SATB, for students in grades 6-12. Auditions will be held Monday, June 19 and August 28 from 4-6 pm at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 169 Fairmount Road, Ridgewood, NJ. Treble voices are accepted from grades 6-12 and SATB voices from grades 9-12. Audition requirements, including a memorized solo, and registration details are available on the New Jersey Choral Society website at www.njcs.org under “About”. Interested students, parents and educators can contact Festival Youth Chorus Director, Noelle Dachis, at [email protected] for more information.
This is a unique and exciting opportunity for young choral singers to perform with the New Jersey Choral Society and Maestro Eric Dale Knapp, and a rare experience to include on college applications, especially for students heading into a music study. Students selected for the chorus are expected to attend weekly rehearsals, held at St. Elizabeth’s Church on Monday evenings, and all performances. The Festival Youth Chorus will be singing in at least three performances during the NJCS 2017-2018 season.
Established in 1980, the New Jersey Choral Society is one of the state’s most prestigious choral groups, well-known for presenting outstanding and unique programs. Under the direction of Eric Dale Knapp, NJCS performs three major concerts annually in Bergen and Essex counties. They have performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House and have toured internationally in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, China, Australia, England, France and Italy.
Ridgewood NJ, Eighteen Ridgewood Taekwondo athletes faced a major challenge at the Big East Tournament, which drew over 400 competitors from the tri-state area on April 30. The results were stellar: 23 Gold, 9 Silver, and 4 Bronze. The Big East Tournament was the final stop in the circuit before the nationals, which will take place on June 28 in Detroit.
Taekwondo All In, an instructional school for the Korean martial art, continues to establish itself as a premier school for the sport. The school received the “Best School” designation at the New Jersey Tournament several years running.
Youngmin Kim, a Taekwondo master and head instructor noted, “We have an amazing group of kids at Taekwondo All In. Their dedication and hard work is truly inspirational. Our goal at the school is to teach our students not only the martial art, but life lessons on grit, focus and hard work, which will benefit them in all aspects of their lives.”
The students and their medals earned are as follows:
Ricardo Edmilao 3 Gold Medals
Jenna Slota, Elliott Yi, Isaac Yi, Audrey Kim, Blake Edmilao, and Emily Kam 2 Gold medals
Lucas Woods, Liam Woods, Tyler Minn, Mason Allum, Kaylin lee, Tony An 1 Gold medal and 1 Silver medal
Dongjun Kim, 1 Gold and 1 Bronze medal
Kate Minn 1 Gold medal
Grace Chi, Elias Chi, Cooper Allum, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal
Ridgewood Nj, Just got word that FISH in Ridgewood has closed . Fish was located at 54 East Ridgewood Avenue.
Patrons of seafood restaurant have been greeted by a sign in the window that they will be spending the summer upgrading their catering venues.
Their Facebook page has gone missing and phone number is no longer working. The Fish in Asbury Park closed back in October and at that time rumors were denied by Fishes management of an imminent closing.
Patrons were general lukewarm to the venue not bad but not great and as previously reported on this blog the restaurant was surrounded by controversy from the very start.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood ,Glen Rock and Ho Ho Kus all Make the NICHE 2017 100 Best Places to Buy a House list.
The NICHE 2017 Best Places to Buy a House ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of the housing and community of an area. This grade takes into account key factors of a location’s housing market, including home values, taxes, crime rates, and quality of local schools, in an attempt to measure the quality and stability of an area’s real estate market.
In Bergen County Ridgewood neighbor Glen Rock fared best with a rating of 17, Ho Ho Kus a 55, Ridgewood 66, and Fairlawn 87. Other Bergen County towns who ranked well Haworth 24, Demarest 29, Ramsey 32, Mahwah 42, Oradell 66 , and Allendale 93.
Ridgewood NJ, what happens if they have primary and nobody shows? In a apparent thumbs down and no confidence vote to New Jersey politicians only 13.78% of Ridgewood registered voters came out and cast ballots .Democrat turn out was a bit higher with 30% and Republican turn out a paltry 18%.
While Trenton insider blamed the weather , the reality is Garden State politicians have long ago lost any shed of credibility. New Jersey voters seem to be voting with their feet instead of the ballot box and moving to greener pastures . The primary season was filled with a litany of promises no one believes and voters were left with the prospect of ever higher property taxes , more urbanization and an ever deteriorating quality of life.
A sense of doom and dread seemed to permeate the air on primary day because even the lest connected of residents feels that the party may finally be over for New Jersey with massive bills ,pensions and union contracts all be coming due. The huge tax increases needed may finally chase out the last bits of the tax base . New Jersey seems destined to follow neighboring state Connecticut policies that managed to chase out GE its largest tax payer and largest employer and now Aetna Insurance. What Trenton politicians have failed to grasp with their constant attacks on the private sector is that people with money and businesses can and will move out first .
What voters should be asking politicians during this election cycle is ; give me one good reason anyone want to live in New Jersey ?
By Vince Calio, June 5, 2017 at 12:51 PM
Amtrak and NJ Transit would use a new Gateway tunnel under the Hudson River. – (AARON HOUSTON)
Private firms will be sought to help finance and construct the $20 billion rail tunnel connecting northern New Jersey and New York City.
During its June 1 board meeting, the Gateway Program Development Board approved a move to solicit private construction and finance companies to complete the project under a public-private partnership model. In a typical P3 procurement model, private financial institutions would raise part of the money for a public project through a combination of debt and direct equity infusions, and then hire outside construction firms to complete it.
If implemented, the procurement model could pump several billion dollars into both New York and New Jersey’s economy, said the board’s chairman, Richard Bagger, during the meeting.
Model of proposed East Rutherford, New Jersey mall, the American Dream
(Ilya Marritz / WNYC)
Jun 5, 2017 · by Ilya Marritz
The company behind American Dream, Triple Five of Canada, is detailing its vision for a mall-entertainment destination in the Meadowlands in New Jersey — and the hazards that could derail the project.
Since the concept of a shopping destination on state-owned marshland was first green-lit in 2003, the mall has encountered many problems. Two earlier developers gave up on the project, formerly known as “Xanadu.”
Now, Triple Five is looking to raise $2.8 billion to finance the final phases of construction. More than half of the funding will be arranged privately through J.P. Morgan Chase. The remaining $1.1 billion is expected to come from the sale of tax-free, unrated, government bonds.
For that bond sale, two preliminary offering memoranda are now in circulation: one is for an $800 million bond package backed by payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT); the other is for a $300 million bond package backed by sales tax receipts generated after American Dream opens. The bonds are being sold by the Public Finance Authority of Wisconsin, which is serving as a middleman between the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and investors.
The documents — over 1,800 pages of them — disclose a wide array of risks that potential investors will have to consider.
Glen Rock NJ, Early this morning Glen Rock PD patrol officers found several vehicles that had just been burglarized. A perimeter was setup and a K9 track located one suspect hiding in bushes who was arrested by police. Assisting with the arrest were officers from the Ridgewood Police Department and Bergen County Sheriff’s Department.
We are still investigating and believe there were additional actors. As of now, we have about 15 reported vehicle burglaries. The known locations are Kent Road, Greenway Road, Oak Knoll Road, Lowell Road, Hillside Avenue and Rock Road. Four additional vehicle burglaries were reported on the Boulevard over the past weekend. The Hawthorne and Allendale Police Departments are also investigating car burglaries that may or may not be related over the past few weeks. Any victims who had not yet made a report are asked to contact the Glen Rock Police Department at 201-652-3800.
The GRPD Detective Bureau is asking anyone with home vi deo surveillance systems to review footage between 1:00 AM and 3:30 AM this morning to see if they captured any suspects and or vehicles on video. Anyone with possible video or other information on these burglaries is asked to please contact Detective Michael Trover at 201-670-3947 or Detective James Calaski at 201-670-3948.
ARRESTED:
Josean Alexander
DOB 03/22/1997
34 Highland Cross
Rutherford, NJ 07070
Ridgewood NJ, On this 73rd anniversary of D-Day let us remember, and honor, the soldiers who gave their lives for the freedoms of France and rest of Europe.
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow, hard slog across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s crack troops.
It was the beginning of the end for the Third Reich and a major turning point to free Europe and show that freedom can prevail over totalitarianism.
