Pension payment cuts in response to fiscal emergency, Christie administration says in court papers
Governor Christie cut payments to the state pension fund because New Jersey is in a fiscal emergency, his administration claimed Wednesday in a challenge to unions trying to block the move. That fiscal emergency, which could not have been predicted, allowed Christie to take direct action and cut part of his planned pension payment, the Attorney General’s Office said in court papers filed as part of the union lawsuit. And if the courts do get involved, that would hinder a budgetary process that was assigned to the Legislature and executive branch and be an action beyond the court’s authority, the administration said. (Phillis/The Bergen Record)
The next Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Board of Education will be held on Monday, June 23, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the meeting at the Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, Floor 3. The meeting will be aired live on FiOS channel 33 and Optimum channel 77. Or it may be viewed live via the www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us using the “Link in Live” tab.
Click here to view the agenda for the June 2, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
Click here to view the webcast of the June 2, 2014 Regular Public Meeting.
2014-2015 Budget Information Taking effect this year, the Ridgewood Board of Education has opted to move the annual school board elections from April to November, thereby eliminating the public vote on the proposed general tax levy if it is at or below the statutory tax levy cap. Since next year’s proposed budget falls within the mandated cap, it will not be put to public vote. The Board approved the 2014-2015 budget at its April 28 Regular Public meeting
Click here to view the Budget edition of Newsline, sent to Ridgewood residents in May. The newsletter provides information about next year’s school budget.
Click here to view the Fiscal Year 2015 User Friendly Budget.
Click here to view the Fiscal Year 2015 full budget.
Click here to view the 2014-2015 Budget Presentation.
To send a question or comment about the 2014-2015 school budget, please email the superintendent at[email protected].
Trenton’s Broken Record Jun. 19 By Joe Sinagra | The Save Jersey Blog
“This plan is not only a matter of fairness and responsibility with pension payments, it is really about the full range of government services and opportunities, including such things as property tax relief, college affordability, public schools, law enforcement, transportation and many more priority needs,” NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney said on Wednesday as he rolled out his counter-proposal to Governor Chris Christie’s budget. “We have to maintain the state’s commitment to all New Jersey residents by meeting all of our commitments. This is a fair and responsible plan that will help meet those needs as it restores balance to the budget in a fiscally responsible way.”
So in all the years and administrations prior to Christie being governor, the 154 tax increases, raising the state sales tax from 6% to 7%, a 4% corporate tax surcharge, a 25% increase in liquor taxes, increased taxes for the citizens of New Jersey by over $10 billion dollars, an increase in the Realty Transfer Tax of $62 million on the state level, another $22 million on the county level, along with another $8 million tax on the lottery. . . Senator Sweeney now suddenly believes we need a fair and responsible plan?
What happened to all of the revenue that was already collected?
Even the promised tax rebate disappeared. On average, property taxes went up 55 percent statewide from the prior seven years before Corzine and another 20 percent when Corzine took office, and Corzine left us a $2.2 billion shortfall that existed when Christie took office on Jan. 19, 2010.
And Senator Sweeney decides now is the time to meet the commitments of the residents? Why is it that more is never enough in this state?
Readers debate Gail Price’s actions during the Valley hearings
Gail Price , her body language last night appeared to indicate discomfort (due to bias? – hard to say).
Would be curious to know what instructions she gave the planning board in the closed door session prior to the vote. Have heard rumors but cannot confirm.
Also, could be wrong but I heard her bid for the renewal of her Ridgewood job was extremely “reasonable” compared to the other applicants. Since when has an attorney been known to be reasonable? Why does she want to keep it so badly?
Just Google her name + Ridgewood and other posts come up that lay out more specifics.
I would urge the town to consider motivations before resigning her and make sure they are consistent with “doing the right thing”………..
………At some point in this process, the PB knew that this proposal was going to be denied. In any deliberative process, at that point you try to protect the record in the event of appeal by leaning over backwards to the losing side on procedural issues so that on appeal you limit the issues they can complain about.
The PB attorney was undoubtedly aware of this. I cannot say what was in anybody’s head or heart but by limiting the procedural grounds for appeal by VH, she was doing her job. Was that her sole motivation? I don’t know, but something to consider.
Valley Hospital’s next step is critical after expansion plan’s defeat
JUNE 19, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2014, 12:57 AM BY BARBARA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood is at a critical juncture, stung by the rejection of its plan to double in size yet still in need of upgrades that will keep it current in a highly competitive health care market.
After an eight-year battle that has polarized the village, the hospital’s expansion plan was shot down by the Planning Board on Tuesday night. To make the defeat more bitter, all the other hospitals in the area have added a new building or completed major renovations in the years since Valley began asking for permission to build.
“This has been a painful blow, and it now has to face alternatives,” said Don Malafronte, president of Urban Health Institute, a private health care consulting company. “If it wants to continue to be a premier institution, it will be very difficult given the vote.”
Valley, according to others in the health care field, faces critical decisions in the coming months: Should the hospital — which has the state’s most desirable patient population and best bottom line, as well as a solid medical reputation — take the village to court? Should it relocate, possibly expanding operations at its satellite campus in Paramus? Can the hospital develop a new plan that will appease the residents who have fought the expansion for years?
Valley officials refused requests for an interview on Wednesday. At the many hearings on the expansion plan, their representatives often spoke about how the hospital’s survival depended on the expansion, which called for all private rooms and larger operating suites.
LIFE IS NOT ONE HUGE HOSPITAL June 18, 2014 Rituparna Basu https://ari.aynrand.org/blog/2014/06/18/life-is-not-one-huge-hospital-2
Advocates of universal coverage seek to create a society in which, if you can’t afford health insurance, the government forces others to provide it for you. What is the moral defense for treating some people as slaves to the needs of others? At the American Medical Association’s JAMA Forum, Austin Frakt presents one argument (citing other scholars):
[T]here is a “social obligation to protect opportunity.”
From this, a lot follows. One’s opportunity is threatened by poor health. In sickness, one cannot learn or earn as efficiently, let alone enjoy the same length or quality of life. Therefore, protecting opportunity implies protection of access to health care services that promote and preserve health. And, it’s hard to argue with the notion that such access should be protected equally.
I have two comments:
First, “protecting opportunity” is a euphemism for destroying people’s opportunities. If the government forces Joe to spend a portion of his income footing Sandra’s medical coverage, Joe’s ability to pursue his own opportunities, such as the longest, highest-quality life for himself, is impeded. In practice, the “social obligation to protect opportunity” means the government sacrifices people who have earned opportunities to pursue better lives for themselves, for the sake of those who have not earned them.
Second, it’s true that life can be harder for Sandra when she’s sick compared to when she is healthy. But why does this impose an obligation on others to support her? In fact, it doesn’t. Other people’s medical needs, no matter what challenges they present these individuals, do notimpose an obligation on you.
I’m reminded of a passage from Ayn Rand’s “Apollo 11,” in which Rand memorably summarizes her response to the notion that need is a first mortgage on the time, efforts and lives of others:
Poverty is not a mortgage on the labor of others — misfortune is not a mortgage on achievement — failure is not a mortgage on success — suffering is not a claim check, and its relief is not the goal of existence — man is not a sacrificial animal on anyone’s altar nor for anyone’s cause — life is not one huge hospital.
Nothing justifies treating people as if they are the servants of others. Universal coverage is immoral.
Student Accuses High School Of Blocking Conservative Websites June 18, 2014 9:52 AM
WOODBURY, Conn. (CBS Hartford) – A high school student claims that a firewall is blocking conservative websites at his school.
Andrew Lampart, a senior at Nonnewaug High School, discovered that he couldn’t get on the National Rifle Association’s website while on campus as he was doing research for a classroom debate on gun control in May.
“So, I went over to the other side,” Lampart told WTIC. “And I went over on sites such as Moms Demand Action or Newtown Action Alliance and I could get on these websites but not the others.”
The 18-year-old decided to investigate further by broadening his search terms to political parties in Connecticut.
“I immediately found out that the State Democrat website was unblocked but the State GOP website was blocked,” Lampart said.
The student took it a step further and looked at websits focusing on abortion issues and religion. He discovered that “right-to-life” groups were blocked by the firewall but that Planned Parenthood and Pro-Choice America weren’t.
Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner’s crashed hard drive has been recycled, making it likely the lost emails of the lightening rod in the tea party targeting controversy will never be found, according to multiple sources.
“We’ve been informed that the hard drive has been thrown away,” Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Repu told POLITICO the same late Wednesday, citing IRS officials.
Two additional sources told POLITICO the same late Wednesday, citing IRS officials.
Assembly Puts Brakes On Common Core Jun. 18 By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
If I told you that the Democrat-dominated New Jersey Assembly voted 72-4 this week to slow down the pace of Common Core State Standards implementation, Save Jerseyans, you’d probably feel the urge to get your eyes checked. But that’s exactly what happened on Monday. Go figure….
The legislative effort spearheaded by Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex) won a dozen primary sponsors and overwhelming bipartisan support; if it becomes law, the bill would establish a task force to review (not scrap) state participation in the controversial new Common Core standards and the equally controversial the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing.
It’s a step in the right direction, however tiny… and not necessarily for the right reasons…
Key to understanding this story is whom the initiatives manage to offend.
Thousands to Be Questioned on Eligibility for Health Insurance Subsidies
By ROBERT PEARJUNE 15, 2014
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is contacting hundreds of thousands of people with subsidized health insurance to resolve questions about their eligibility, as consumer advocates express concern that many will be required to repay some or all of the subsidies.
Of the eight million people who signed up for private health plans through insurance exchanges under the new health care law, two million reported personal information that differed from data in government records, according to federal officials and Serco, the company hired to resolve such inconsistencies.
The government is asking consumers for additional documents to verify their income, citizenship, immigration status and Social Security numbers, as well as any health coverage that they may have from employers. People who do not provide the information risk losing their subsidized coverage and may have to repay subsidies next April.
Federal subsidies for the purchase of private insurance are a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act. More than eight out of 10 people who selected health plans through the exchanges from October through mid-April were eligible for subsidies, including income tax credits. So far this year the federal government has paid out $4.7 billion in subsidies, and the amount is expected to total $900 billion over 10 years.
Since June 1, the government has notified hundreds of thousands of people that “the information in your application doesn’t match what we found in other records.” Accordingly, the notice says, “you need to follow up as soon as possible and provide more documents to make sure the marketplace has the correct information.”
“If you don’t send the needed documents,” it says, “you risk losing your marketplace coverage or help you may be receiving to pay for such coverage.”
Report: N.J. residents pay highest premiums on U.S. marketplace for health insurance
JUNE 17, 2014, 7:32 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014, 7:32 PM BY LINDY WASHBURN STAFF WRITER THE RECORD
New Jersey residents who bought health insurance on the federal marketplace paid the highest premiums in the nation, even after the tax subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act, a report released Tuesday by the federal government said.
The average premium after tax credits was $148 a month, compared with $82 a month in the 36 states that relied on the federal marketplace. Not included in the report are states with their own exchanges, among them California and New York.
The report analyzed 2014 premiums. Next year’s premiums are to be submitted to the state Insurance Department later this month.
“It will be critical that any increases be kept to a minimum,” said Raymond Castro, an analyst with New Jersey Policy Perspective. The new rates will apply not only to those eligible for subsidies, but also to those who buy individual plans outside the marketplace.
This year, New Jersey had less competition than most other states for customers who bought coverage through the marketplace. Only three insurance companies issued plans, compared with as many as 11 companies in other states, the report said. That tended to make premiums higher in New Jersey.
Ridgewood Planning Board “The impacts from this amendment are detrimental to the community,”
JUNE 17, 2014, 9:00 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014, 10:54 PM BY BARBARA WILLIAMS AND CHRIS HARRIS STAFF WRITERS THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — In a surprising and resounding defeat for The Valley Hospital, the Planning Board on Tuesday night voted against the hospital’s plan to nearly double in size.
The audience erupted in cheers after each vote against a master plan amendment that would have allowed the expansion. When the voting was done, the count was 5 to 2 against and residents who have opposed expansion for eight years were rejoicing in the auditorium of Benjamin Franklin Middle School, where the meeting was held.
“It’s a great decision for Ridgewood,” said Thomas McAndrews. “It would have strained our quality of life if it were allowed to go through.”
Most of the board members who rejected the plan used the same word — “detrimental” — in explaining the impact of the proposed expansion on the village.
“It’s Valley’s burden to show that change is warranted and I don’t believe Valley has met that burden,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn, who is also on the Planning Board and cast a vote against the amendment. “I don’t think the proposal will serve the best interests of the community.”
Kevin Reilly, another board member who voted against the plan, agreed. “The impacts from this amendment are detrimental to the community,” he said.
Valley executives declined to comment after the vote, instead issuing a short statement: “While we are disappointed by the Planning Board’s vote, we remain committed to serving our patients with award-winning care and developing a long-term facilities solution to ensure we can meet that commitment.”
Christie says NJ government won’t shut down if judge rules against pension plan
Gov. Chris Christie tonight said his administration would likely appeal if a state judge rules that he cannot go through with a controversial plan to reduce payments to New Jersey’s public worker pension system to help balance the troubled state budget. (Johnson/The Star-Ledger)
Menendez repays $60,000 for rides in donor’s private jet
Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, whose net worth in 2012 ranked 82nd in the Senate out of a 100 lawmakers, took a big hit financially when he was forced to pay back to a donor nearly $60,000 for lavish trips on private jets to the Dominican Republic, according to his 2013 financial-disclosure report. (Palmieri/The New York Post)
