Ridgewood Council formally removes manager in 3-2 vote costing Village nearly $83,000
Thursday September 19, 2013, 4:21 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood will pay nearly $83,000 to Ken Gabbert, who was officially terminated from the village manager position after the governing body approved a Final Resolution of Removal by 3-2 vote Wednesday night.
According to Heather Mailander, who is currently serving as the municipal clerk and acting manager, the payout includes three months’ worth of Gabbert’s salary and 250 days of accrued vacation time. Requested by Councilwoman Berna-dette Walsh, who voted against the resolution, Mailander and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Sanzari provided a breakdown of the severance package: $36,288 for vacation days and $46,250 to account for the state-mandated three months’ pay.
Walsh also pointed out that, in addition to the sum given to Gabbert, Ridgewood is also paying additional money in his absence. The village is currently offering Mailander as well as others in the Village Clerk’s Office a stipend while they assume extra responsibilities during the search for a new municipal manager.
PSE&G Warns Customers About Phone Scam
September 19, 2013
(Newark, NJ – Sept. 19, 2013) PSE&G is once again urging its customers to be vigilant to a telephone scam where callers threaten to shut off electric or gas service if payment is not made that day.
Residential and small business customers have reported receiving these deceptive phone calls from individuals pretending to be PSE&G employees. The callers demand that customers make a payment within hours using a Green Dot Money Pak, a type of pre-paid card available at pharmacies and convenience stores. PSE&G does not accept these cards. The utility offers a variety of payment options, and would never require a customer to use one specific type of payment.
Any customer who has doubts about the legitimacy of a call from PSE&G — especially one in which payment is requested — should call the utility directly at 1-800-436-PSEG (7734).
folks careful………
On September 13, 2013 Ridgewood Police report a Ridgewood Resident reported that she had received a call that her grandson was in jail and needed money to be bailed out. The victim made two transfers to the Dominican Republic. The victim later found that her grandson was not in jail. The matter is under investigation by the Ridgewood Detective Bureau.
No taper brings back talk of currency war
Published: Wednesday, 18 Sep 2013 | 11:09 PM ET
By: Katie Holliday | Writer for CNBC.com
The Federal Reserve’s shocking decision not to taper, despite broad expectations for a $10-20 billion reduction of its monthly asset purchases, has reignited talk of a global currency war.
Risk-on currencies like the Australian dollar, the euro and the British pound soared in response, while the greenback dropped across the board. Now some analysts say the Fed’s decision could prompt other central banks to devalue their currencies in an attempt to retain a competitive edge.
“We are on the verge [of a currency war]… especially if the Fed does not taper in October or December…” said Boris Schlossberg, MD of BK Asset Management.
The other G10 countries will have to react and the only thing they can do is provide “even more accommodative policies in order to try and equalize all these currency differentials,” he added.
Lonegan Questions : Were Booker’s Law Firm Payouts Illegal?
September 18m 2013
“Cory Booker claims he separated from the law firm, but he has kept the separation agreement secret, if there even is one,” Lonegan said. “The public has not seen any document or any other evidence that he is not still an employee of the law firm.”
WEST ORANGE, NJ – Mayor Steve Lonegan, Republican candidate for the United States Senate, challenged Cory Booker to disclose his purported separation agreement with the law firm Trenk DiPasquale because serious questions have been raised concerning the firm’s contracts totaling over $2 million with Newark, while Booker was mayor. Most disturbingly, Booker has reportedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars in private payments from the firm at the same time these lucrative contracts were awarded by his Administration.
“Cory Booker claims he separated from the law firm, but he has kept the separation agreement secret, if there even is one,” Lonegan said. “The public has not seen any document or any other evidence that he is not still an employee of the law firm.”
The evidence available indicates he is still an employee and includes reports that:
Booker continued to receive substantial checks from Trenk DiPasquale from 2007 to 2011;
Booker received a 50% raise from Trent DiPasquale in 2009, long after he allegedly separated from the firm; and
Booker indicated on his tax returns that he ‘materially participated’ in the law firm while mayor.
Lonegan said that in light of all this evidence, “Cory Booker should publish his separation agreement to show that these payouts were not kickbacks.”
In criticizing Booker for awarding taxpayer-funded contracts to the firm, Lonegan cited the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Professional Responsibility (EC 9-6), which requires that every lawyer must “strive to avoid not only professional impropriety but also the appearance of impropriety.” He also cited New Jersey statute 40:73-2, which says:
40:73-2. No officer or employee to be interested in contracts
No officer or employee, elected or appointed in any such municipality shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract or job for work or materials, or the profits thereof, or services to be furnished or performed for the municipality, and no such officer or employee shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract or job for work or materials or the profits thereof, or services to be furnished or performed, for any person operating interurban railway, street railway, gas works, waterworks, electric light or power plant, heating plant, telegraph line, telephone exchange, or other public utility within the territorial limits of the municipality.
“Newark awarding these contracts while Booker was mayor certainly has the appearance of impropriety,” Lonegan said. “If Cory Booker received Trenk DiPasquale payoffs because he shuffled taxpayer-funded business their way, it is truly disheartening and potentially criminal. As an attorney, Cory Booker should know what the appearance of impropriety is, and it certainly exists here.”
Sunday, September 22nd from 12pm to 5pm – on East Ridgewood Avenue from North Maple Avenue to Oak Street – come enjoy quality exhibitors of Arts and Crafts; Kids Activities; Great Food and All Day Entertainment – Held Rain or Shine – Admission is FREE. Bring your Family and enjoy a beautiful Fall day in Ridgewood!
REGISTER NOW FOR FALL CLASSES AT RPS COMMUNITY SCHOOL
Ridgewood Community School
NOW REGISTERING FOR FALL 2013
Maximizing the unique potential of every learner, young and old, for over 60 years!
Group Tours & Travel, plus over 200 Classes for both children and adults,
Encore Music Studio Private Music Lessons & Driver Education
It’s not too late to take a class this Fall!!
Registration is on-going
Classes begin the week of September 30
For more information call (201) 670-2777 or email [email protected]
View the brochure on the Community School page at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us
Register at https://register.communitypass.net
As Budget Fight Looms, Obama Sees Defiance in His Own Party
By PETER BAKER and JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: September 17, 2013
WASHINGTON — For four years, President Obama counted on fellow Democrats to rally to his side in a series of epic battles with Republicans over the direction of the country. But now, deep in his fifth year in office, Mr. Obama finds himself frustrated by members of his own party weary of his leadership and increasingly willing to defy him.
In recent weeks, disgruntled Democrats, particularly liberals, have bolted from the White House on issues like National Security Agency surveillance policies, a planned military strike on Syria and the potential choice of Lawrence H. Summers to lead the Federal Reserve. In private, they often sound exasperated describing Mr. Obama’s operation; in public, they are sometimes only a little more restrained.
IRS officials thought Obama wanted crackdown on tea party groups, worried about negative press
IRS employees were “acutely” aware in 2010 that President Obama wanted to crack down on conservative organizations and were egged into targeting tea party groups by press reports mocking the emerging movement, according to an interim report being circulated Tuesday by House investigators.
The report, by staffers for Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, quoted two Internal Revenue Service officials saying the tea party applications were singled out in the targeting program that has the agency under investigation because “they were likely to attract media attention.”
In the report, the investigators do not find evidence that IRS employees received orders from politicians to target the tea party, and agency officials deny overt bias or political motives.
Feeholders give themselves power to reorganize, investigate county government
Tuesday, September 17, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday September 18, 2013, 10:10 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
The Bergen County Freeholders on Tuesday night approved changes to the county code that explicitly give them the power to reorganize and investigate the way county government is administered.
The board voted 6-1 to approve the changes, with Republicans John Felice and John Mitchell joining Democrats David Ganz, Joan Voss, Steve Tanelli and Tracy Zur. Freeholder Maura DeNicola, a Republican, cast the lone dissenting vote.
The vote comes at a time when the Democratic freeholders, who have a 4-3 majority, are on the verge of introducing a proposal to merge the Bergen County Police Department into the Sheriff’s Office, a move that County Executive Kathleen Donovan, a Republican, opposes. The Democratic freeholders are expected to unveil their plan on Wednesday at party headquarters in Hackensack.
Throughout nearly two years of contentious debate on the merger, Donovan has insisted that the freeholders lack the authority to eliminate an entire county department unless her office first proposes it.
More firefighters join Ridgewood dive team
Tuesday September 17, 2013, 10:30 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Widespread flooding in the wake of recent weather disasters such as Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy has placed new emphasis on water rescue in Bergen County, particularly for towns that border naturally occurring brooks and streams. Two years removed from one of the worst flood events in village history, the Ridgewood Fire Department has bolstered its swift water rescue team, adding eight new members who recently obtained their Open Water Diving Certification.
With two rivers and several ponds in its jurisdiction, including a sandy-bottomed municipal swimming pool, the fire department has maintained a professional dive team for nearly two decades. The recent addition brings the unit’s membership to 20 firefighters who have diving certification.
The eight new members – Matt Bombace, Brendan Corcoran, Greg Corcoran, Kurt Harba, Jim Kakolewski, Mike Kakolewski, Matt Ramge and Chris Wolfstirn – tested their underwater skills earlier this month at Graydon Pool, its lake-like waters providing ample conditions for training. Training was conducted under the supervision of instructor Tony Petrak and divemasters Geoff Morris and Susanne Warfield, of Blue Water Divers.
2013 Ridgewood Jazz & Blues Feast
September 18,2013
the Ridgewood Guild
Ridgewood NJ, On Sunday Sept 15 The Ridgewood Guild hosted its inaugural Jazz Feast. This one day event drew a crowd of over 2,000 people to Memorial Park at Van Neste Square right here in Ridgewood.
It was truly a happening in the park! A diverse selection of jazz musicians brought down the house. The show opened with jazz and blues songstress Antoinette Montague. She performed with Dave Chamberlain’s Band of Bones, giving her that big band sound that people just adore. Special guest guitarist King Solomon Hicks was pure joy. Antoinette was followed by front man Rob Paparozzi who’s jazz, rock, and blues harmonica playing was equally appealing. Rob has played with industry luminaries such as B. B. King, Whitney Houston, Carole King, and Cyndi Lauper to name a few. The show ended with a stellar performance by one of the industries most revered drummers, Winard Harper. Harper on drums with his band as back up was magical! A special guest appearance by the legendary Steve Turri made the day even more special.
16 of Ridgewood’s finest restaurants were on hand serving up some of the best food that our village has to offer. A Beer and Wine Garden was on hand with the Garden State’s Ventimiglia Vineyards and Kohler Distributing Co.
The Ridgewood Guild would like to thank The Valley Hospital, Park Avenue Saab, and Applebee’s/Shannon Rose for sponsoring our event.
Manager’s ouster cost Ridgewood $82,538, village clerk says
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 Last updated: Thursday September 19, 2013, 12:58 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
RIDGEWOOD — The village paid more than $82,000 in severance to its former manager, Manager Ken Gabbert, whom the council voted to dismiss in August, the interim manager confirmed at a public meeting on Wednesday night.
Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh — who voted with Councilman Thomas Riche against a final resolution to remove Gabbert — asked the interim manager, Village Clerk Heather Mailander, what Gabbert’s dismissal had cost the village.
Mailander said Gabbert received three months’ salary — or $46,250 — as well as 250 accrued vacation days valued at $36,288, for a total payout of $82,538.
Angelo DeSimone named State Monitor for Garfield schools
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
BY KIM LUEDDEKE
STAFF WRITER
The Record
GARFIELD — The Ridgewood school district’s recently retired business administrator has been named the new state monitor for Garfield schools, according to state education official Glenn Forney.
Angelo DeSimone, who retired from Ridgewood in July, will replace Lester Richens, who has been the Garfield district’s monitor since 2011.
DeSimone officially takes over on Monday, said Forney, the assistant division director of finance for the state Department of Education’s Office of Budget Review and State Monitors.
Richens must leave Garfield because of pension restrictions that limit retired school administrators from serving more than two years in any one post, said Forney. Richens is a former Belmar and Burlington County executive superintendent of schools.
DeSimone will be paid an hourly wage of $93. He does not have a set schedule of hours he must work.
Franchise owners come to Washington to plead for ObamaCare relief
By Kevin Bogardus – 09/17/13 06:00 AM ET
Franchise restaurant owners have come to Washington seeking a change to ObamaCare that they say could prevent them from having to cut their employees’ hours.
The healthcare law requires large employers to provide insurance to employees who work at least 30 hours per week.
Franchise owners say the employer mandate threatens to erase their narrow profit margins and are telling lawmakers they need to overhaul the law before it’s too late.
“Employees won’t have the hours they need, and they won’t get employer-sponsored healthcare, either,” said Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association (IFA).
