>Bolger Foundation may sever donations to Ridgewood
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Last updated: Thursday August 26, 2010, 1:04 PM
BY MICHAEL SEDON
The Ridgewood News
Staff Writer
https://www.northjersey.com/news/101571578_Foundation_may_sever_donations.html
The Village of Ridgewood may have lost the support of one of its major benefactors due to its current regulation structure regarding gifting.
Local philanthropist David F. Bolger, president of the Bolger Foundation and president of the former Marion and Silfred DePhillips Foundation, has indicated that he may settle his outstanding gift obligations to the Ridgewood Public Library and then stop making charitable donations to the Village of Ridgewood.
“As the president of The Bolger Foundation, I hereby notify The Village of Ridgewood that, under the existing rules and regulations and other than the outstanding commitments to the Ridgewood Public Library to fund the extension of the security system at a cost of about $3,500, The Bolger Foundation will no longer make any gifts to The Village of Ridgewood or any organization which is connected to the Village including, but not limited, to The Ridgewood Police Department and The Ridgewood Fire Department which have also been major beneficiaries of The Bolger Foundation’s giving in the past,” wrote Bolger in an Aug. 19 letter addressed to the mayor, council and village manager.
The council briefly discussed gifts and how the village goes about accepting them at the Aug. 4 work session in light of a gift offered by Wyckoff-based Terraclean Power Washing, which it did not accept, to power wash the sidewalks on East Ridgewood Avenue. The company paid a $100 ticket plus court costs in Ridgewood’s municipal court a few days before making the gift offer. Several gift offers from The Bolger Foundation were included on that same agenda.
The discussion took place because of Ordinance 3132, adopted Aug. 13, 2008, which prohibits anyone with business currently before any of the village’s boards or agencies from offering a gift or donation for 90 days until final action has been taken. A person or business cannot make a gift or donation offer to the village until 90 days after final action on a request for relief or application is finalized.
The council agreed at the Aug. 4 meeting to “tighten up” some of the language in the ordinance, which would be discussed further. The council will revisit the ordinance and hold a “general” discussion at its Sept. 1 meeting, said Village Manager Ken Gabbert in an e-mail. He also expressed the village’s appreciation for Bolger’s generosity.
E-mail: sedon@northjersey.com
https://www.northjersey.com/news/101571578_Foundation_may_sever_donations.html
