>THE RIDGEWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL HAVE AN EMERGENCY MINIMUM DAY/EARLY DISMISSAL ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1. OFFICIALS WILL BE MONITORING THE WEATHER. ANY CHANGES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE FURTHER POSTED ON THE WEBSITE.
The Emergency Minimum Day Schedule is as follows:
RED Program operates from 9 – 11 a.m.
A.M. Kindergarten meets from 8:45 – 11:20 a.m.
P.M. Kindergarten is canceled.
Grades 1 – 5 meet from 8:45 a.m. – 12: 45 p.m.
Grades 6 – 8 meet from 8 a.m. – 12: 15 p.m.
Grades 9 – 12 meet from 7:47 a.m. – 12: 30 p.m.
There will be no lunch period. Bus schedules will be adjusted to accommodate this schedule. All after-school and evening activities will be canceled.
Ridgewood NJ- The Valley Hospital is pleased to introduce our new website for The Valley Renewal. Just visit www.TheValleyRenewal.com for updated factual information on the project.
This project is needed to preserve Valley’s ability to provide quality care. In order to continue to serve the residents of Ridgewood with quality healthcare programs and services, Valley must renew. Just like the important investments we make in our schools to preserve their effectiveness, healthcare facilities must evolve.
As in the past, Valley plans to develop facilities that are tastefully designed and carefully constructed. We share great concern for our schoolchildren, families and neighbors. As caregivers, we are particularly sensitive to making sure that our project is constructed with the utmost care.
We welcome your support and encourage your comments and questions through our new website.
>Former Mayor David T. Pfund – “There will be no tangible loss of service . . . ” as a direct result of municipal worker layoffs
For those of you who remember the former Mayor saying this, but can’t remember exactly when he said it, it was on May 12, 2010 during a Regular Public Meeting of the Ridgewood Village Council.
Here’s the dialog:
Boyd Loving, 342 South Irving Street, asked when the vote on the 2010 budget will take place and if there will be any additional opportunity for public comments prior to the vote. Mayor Pfund said that any public comments concerning the budget would need to be made this evening and that the vote will take place on June 9, 2010. Any general comments could be made prior to the vote on June 9, 2010 during the public comments portion of that evening’s meeting.
Mr. Loving said that the Village of Ridgewood Reports (Spring 2010) states in part: “The 2010 Introduced Budget is accomplished with the unprecedented support of numerous full-time employee retirements, adjustments to existing collective bargaining agreements and numerous full and part time staff layoffs.” Mr. Loving said that with regard to the “numerous full and part time staff layoffs,” the public has not yet been informed what services the Village is considering cutting. Therefore, he said it was difficult for anyone to comment on the budget. He asked if anyone could indicate at this time what services may be reduced or eliminated so that the public would have a better idea of what is going to happen.
Dr. Gabbert replied that the Village has submitted a layoff plan to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission and it is up to Civil Service to determine the bumping rights of individuals. Where there are vacancies due to either retirement or elimination of positions, the Village plans to have coverage for those responsibilities/positions. Therefore, Dr. Gabbert did not anticipate any elimination of services. He said that there may be different individuals covering services or acting as supervisors in certain areas, but the services provided by the Village should remain essentially the same.
When again questioned by Mr. Loving, Dr. Gabbert replied that since the 2010 budget has been reduced by 2% from the 2009 budget, health insurance premiums have increased by 18%; contractual salaries have increased by 4.3%; and State aid has been reduced, there will obviously be changes within each department since each departmental budget has been pared down. However, he said that the Village still aims to accomplish its “mission” and if there is a shortfall somewhere, then they will rapidly take care of it.
Mayor Pfund added that this is a very difficult year and there will be changes. He said that there will be no “tangible” loss of service such as the elimination of garbage pickup, recycling services, or street cleaning/plowing. However, with the loss of some jobs, other Village personnel will have to “pick up the slack” in their department to maintain adequate levels of service. Mayor Pfund said that most employees are already working at maximum capacity and, therefore, he said that there is a definite possibility that there will be longer wait times in certain departments as a result. Mayor Pfund said that the Village Council will have to see how this progresses in the future and address any problems which occur. He said that an 8.86% tax increase was unacceptable to him and not fair to the taxpayers. He added that he did not even like a 5.16% increase and stated that the Village Council was going to do whatever it can to reduce this tax rate.
Mr. Loving concurred that an 8.86% tax increase would be unfair. He was concerned about the lack of communication to the taxpayers about what they might expect. He said that a number of people had spoken at the April 14, 2010 meeting regarding reductions in the programming for senior citizens and the Community Center. Mayor Pfund said that more will be known after the determination is made by Civil Service regarding bumping rights. Mr. Loving said that although he had not attended the Board of Education meeting on May 10, 2010, he had heard that Councilman Aronsohn had suggested even deeper cuts in the municipal budget in order to preserve the school budget. He asked if this had been considered by the Village Council and if further reductions would impact services. Mayor Pfund said that, in his opinion, the Village Council will be cutting as much as possible, regardless of the school budget, for the sake of the taxpayers and the Village. He said that there have not been any further discussions in this regard.
Mr. Loving said that a lot of people have mentioned that they moved to Ridgewood for the educational system. He said that in the 1970s, he and his family moved to Ridgewood for the same reason but decided to remain in Ridgewood after their children graduated from high school because of the great municipal services which Ridgewood provides. He cautioned the Village Council to be very careful about which reductions are made because if municipal services are reduced, he predicted that many people whose children are no longer in school will leave Ridgewood. Echoing Mr. Cirillo’s comments, Mr. Loving concluded by saying that it is not “all about” the schools and that there are other considerations as well. He thanked the Village Council for their time. Mayor Pfund thanked Mr. Loving for his comments.
Councilman Killion commented that the Village Council has a choice between raising taxes and making cuts. He said that there was no easy answer and this year will be difficult. He said that it will be even more difficult in 2011 if the proposed 2.5% tax levy cap is passed. Councilman Killion remarked that there is no way that the Village can possibly provide the level of service it does now if that tax levy cap is passed. Mr. Loving said that he understood that cuts need to be made but stated that he was more concerned about the lack of communication to the taxpayers. He said that the Board of Education did a very good job in terms of explaining exactly what their cuts would be. He said that right now, no one knows anything as far as the municipal budget is concerned.
>New Jersey Fiscal Crisis: There are multiple problems with the current system:
1. We have to pay for our own schools plus subsidize the massive state payments to the Abbott disctricts. I’d love to see an estimate of how much of Ridgewood’s tax money get sent each year to the Abbott districts.
2. Our teachers do not pay for enough of their healthcare costs and retirement costs. Public sector retirement plans should be transitioned to 401Ks.
3. The retirement age is too low. It should be at least 60. We are funding 25+ years of reitrement for someone who only worked for 30 years. The math doesn’t work.
4. We have too many non-teachers (administrators, vice principals, secretaries).
5. Special Ed spending is out of control and needs to be reformed at the state level. My understanding is that we spend over 20% of our BOE budget on special ed in one way or another.
6. Class sizes should be increased modestly, from the current 20 to 25. We had 25-30 per class when I was a child and did just fine.
7. We should have differential wages for teachers according to subject matter taught. It is stupid that we pay gym teachers as much as math and science teachers.
8. We should give senior citizens a break on property taxes. Every time a senior who sells a house to a family with kids, it drives our school costs up even more.
9. We should use redistricting more actively to rebalance the school enrollments. We are paying millions of dollars to expand Willard and Ridge, when we could have just shifted the boundary lines a few blocks and put more kids into Orchard.
10. The BOE needs to get serious with the upcoming teachers contract. A wage freeze with benefit givebacks would be a good place to start. Encourage teachers to use their spouses’ healthcare benefits by making ours less attractive. Or, give cash payment in exchange for a teacher using their spous’s benefits.
I know the “math wars” are a dead issue by now, but interestingly, this morning Wiliam Bennett, former US Sec. of Education, was on Morning Joe talking about the shocking fact that the Chinese Education system has surpassed that of Singaore, according to today’s NYTimes.
Bennett is quoted below:
“I work with education textbook companies, Singapore math is this model, we want all our schools to have Singapore math, they get it right…”
Unfortunately, Ridgewood STILL doesn’t get it right!
>Lightgate: Plans for the fields and being informed, the discussions and plans were available
This has nothing to do with the “Inside” or the “Outside” or being disinteresed, it has to do with being informed and being informed works both ways. You have to keep yourself informed as much as if not more than someone needs to inform you. In regards to the plans for the fields and being informed, the discussions and plans were available and relayed to the “outside” for a very long period of time.
During the planning of the Parks and Fields Master Plan in addition to numerous open forums and press coverage there was a mailing that went to every home in Ridgewood explaining what was being planned and looking for input on the plan as well as priorities from residents. That plan was/is the basis for the fields and gymnasium upgrades as well as upgrades/renovations for parks and other recreation facilities in Ridgewood. It didn’t happen over night, there were years of planning and discussions and numerous notices and reports. The pro’s and con’s of artificial turf and lights were discussed extensively and the turf was even a topic at a Village Council meeting which was televised and reported on by both the Ridgewood News and the Record as the plan was reaching it’s final stage.
In addition to that the BOE had (and still has) the plans for each of the projects both at the BOE office and on their website. Each plan was described in detail with the scope of the plan and projected costs outlined. There were mailings sent out with information on the plans as the BOE was trying to generate interest in the bond referendum. The BOE and Administration spent numerous hours at coffees, meetings with residents, open forums at schools as well as being available at Starbuck’s to discuss the plans leading up to the voting on the referendum. The vast majority of the negative feedback on the referendum dealt with the upgrade to the athletic facilities. The Ridgewood News ran a cover story seemingly every week for a year on the topic and the different facets of the referendum.
A couple of the immediate neighbors of RHS were incessant in their criticism of putting turf on Stevens and the RHS Field. The detail they went into at numerous meetings including the hearing with the DEP left no stone unturned, yet now they are claiming they didn’t know that lights were going to be installed? C’mon, do you really think anyone believes that they could dissect the plans to the point of knowing the physical characteristics of the pellets that fill the turf and not know that there were light stantions in the plans? That is hard to believe.
You can put all the “Outside” people you want on a committee and what will you accomplish? Are you going to put one person from every elementary school, one from each middle school and one from the HS on each and every committee in town? How unweildy would that be? What would you accomplish? Nine new committee members who would only bring their personal view to a problem with no concept or concern for the greater good. The Ridge representative fighting with the Somerville rep getting interupted by the GW rep arguing with the BF rep, I doubt that would be a positive for anyone. And the idea of requiring someone from each elementary district to sit on the BOE isn’t going to work either as we can’t get quality people to run for the few seats we have now. Who in their right mind would want to sit on the BOE and spend the time involved dealing with the Federal Gov’t, the State Gov’t, Bergen County, and listen to the non stop complaining from residents every time they make a decision?
As many people have said before; if you think you have better ideas and can make some changes; run, but don’t claim there was some conspiracy or you were uninformed or the information wasn’t available. The information was available and it was dessiminated. There was no conspiracy. Maybe some missed what was going to happen but they’ve got to accept some responsiblity for that.
>Library Staff Ignores Advice Provided by Medical Professionals Due to large number of children who are likely allergic to nuts, for years pediatricians have recommended not to distribute peanut butter and/or peanut butter cookies in public settings where children gather (e.g., schools).
Despite this well known warning, The Fly observed peanut butter cookies being distributed recently in the Children’s Room of the Ridgewood Public Library.
The daughter of the man who invented the plastic grocery sack, Kristen Brown, is leading a grassroots effort to change behavior in New Jersey towards reuse. In partnership with Kings Super Markets, 46 New Jersey schools are taking the School Reuse Challenge this fall. The Challenge is a fundraiser that pairs schools with local grocery stores to ignite the switch from disposable plastic and paper bags to reusable. To prove their commitment to sustainability, Kings is offering to donate thousands of dollars to participating NJ schools.
The following schools in your area are participating:
Hawes Elementary School ECLC of New Jersey Ho Ho-kus Ridgewood High School- Environmental Club
Be Part of the Evolution!
For more information, please see attached press release.
Charitable Donations to the Town. I am fundamentally opposed to “pay to play,” but the situation involving the Bolger Foundation deserved more respect. The next councilperson should actively recruit civically-minded philanthropists like Mr. Bolger to keep the bills down for everyone else.
Public Access. Democracy works best when all its citizens are informed. At present, only select cable providers broadcast our town council meetings. This is a disservice to both the council and the people it serves, and I would like to correct it.
Graydon Pool. I am an advocate of most anything that moves our town forward. But progress can’t run rough-shod over our neighbors on fixed and moderate incomes. Any renovations to Graydon should be tempered by its impact on the average taxpayer.
Land Use. Habernickel Park, the corner of Linwood and Paramus Road, the Schedler lot, the Brogan Cadillac site… these are properties that people have high emotions about. As councilman, I would like to host a “town hall” meeting to foster an open dialog about the issues surrounding these spaces.
Local Administrators. There is little that council can do about D.O.E. salaries, which are determined by the Board of Education. But council can—and should—revisit the salary and fringe benefits awarded to our most senior employees. The public should also be made aware of what provisions have been implemented in the wake of municipal layoffs in various village departments.
Procurement. Our purchasing orders and contracts deserve a full, transparent review. If elected to council, I would like to facilitate just that.
Commerce. The market will ultimately determine where our ratables go, but we still need to support our friends and neighbors downtown: our local merchants who pay taxes, bring in revenue, and add to our culture. Pedestrian Safety. Ensuring pedestrian safety is a top priority. I support the planning board in its recent attempts to make our downtown more pedestrian friendly, and I would sincerely like to work with them in any effort to make our roads and crosswalks safer for our children and families.
Property Taxes. I would bring an entire career of budget and finance experience to the council. As the Budget Officer for New Jersey’s third largest city, I have 19 years of professional experience balancing very large, complex, and nuanced municipal budgets. In this economy, families are tightening their wallets. In the absence of municipal aid and other sources of funding… so, too, must our beloved Ridgewood.
Valley Hospital. Valley is my neighbor. My house is three blocks away. I have lived through prior renovations and I support this one. Let me be clear: I have a vested interest in opposing any renewal that is outside the letter of the law (we all do), but—within reason— we owe it to ourselves to keep our families healthy and our hospital current. If elected, I will monitor Valley’s construction compliance, in accord with their obligation to our town and its character.
Services and Programs. Like most Ridgewood residents, I support increased efficiency in municipal services like sanitation, snow removal, and road resurfacing. I’d like to go one stop further, though, and mention the value of our family programs: our Fourth of July parade, our Memorial Day Run, our tree lighting ceremony… these are the hallmarks of our community, and they need to be preserved.
Youth and Family. Ridgewood is a great town. So many people are proud to call it home. Among other things, we have great schools, great commerce, and fine dining. In times of crisis, we come together as friends and neighbors. We have an authentic character. As a lifelong resident, I have a vested interest in preserving and promoting our character in pursuit of the common good.
Transparency in Government. Here, I’ve spelled out my positions on some hot-button issues—even the most contentious ones. I recognize my opinions won’t bode well with everyone, but that’s politics: the choice is yours. Nevertheless, I hope you’ll consider the honesty with which I have stated my case, and I hope you will contact me if you have additional questions or concerns: [email protected]
>Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union) to propose bill allowing property tax hike larger than 2% cap N.J. lawmaker to propose bill allowing property tax hike larger than 2 percent cap
TRENTON — Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union) will announce legislation Thursday proposing towns be allowed to temporarily exclude the cost of public safety personnel under a new law capping annual property tax collection increases at 2 percent. (Megerian, The Star-Ledger) https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_assemblyman_proposes_bill_a.html
>Christie poised to unveil education reforms today
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie is scheduled to announce a series of proposed educational reforms today at a town hall meeting in Old Bridge. (Method, Daily Record)
>Xanadu “appears to be a failed business model,” according to a gaming, sports and entertainment report released Friday by Governor Christie’s transition team.
Christie report: Xanadu appears to be failure
Friday, January 22, 2010 Last updated: Sunday January 24, 2010, 10:54 AM BY JOHN BRENNAN The Record STAFF WRITER
Xanadu “appears to be a failed business model,” according to a gaming, sports and entertainment report released Friday by Governor Christie’s transition team.
Thus, New Jersey needs to tell the owners to “open or surrender the property,” the report says.
The group, which includes Atlantic City casino industry chief Joseph Corbo and former New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority President Robert Mulcahy, was led by ex-sports authority Chairman Jon Hanson.
The analysis was as blunt and at times as withering as a Christie press conference.
>Acting-Gov. Kim Guadagno signs order to establish bi-partisan Red Tape Review Commission
Acting Gov. Kim Guadagno signed an executive order Thursday that makes permanent a consulting groupå designed to weed out red tape and government waste. (Fletcher, Statehouse Bureau)
>Bergen County financing agency makes mockery of pay-to-play reform
Nearly $10,000 went to sticking Bergen County-owned horses with acupuncture needles while the Bergen County Improvement Authority stuck taxpayers with the bill. (Stile, The Record)
>“Open Letter” : It should clearly state that it was paid for by Valley, or it might mislead people
That’s fine that these guys are sending a letter out on behalf of Valley. However, it should clearly state that it was paid for by Valley, or it might mislead people.
I think it’s great that these guys volunteer at the hospital. That’s their perogative.
However, I know a ton of people in this town. 90% of people are against the expansion as it now stands. It’s not to say that they are all against expanding Valley, but not to the extreme buildout now contemplated.
I’d say that most residents fall into several buckets regarding the expansion: 1. Opposed to any expansion or change 2. Opposed to a 1.1m sq foot structure, 94 foot structure (double the height of any other structure in town) but potentially ok with something scaled back 3. Clueless about what’s going on or proposed 4. Nervous about the expansion but think it’s necessary 5. Gung ho about any expansion because it’s a hospital
I personally am in bucket 2 and so are many people I know.
When I look at Barclay’s letter and it says that they will construct attractive buildings with signfificant attention to landscape design, i laugh. How could they possibly disguise buildings of the size they are proposing by “landscaping”. I drive by Valley now and all trees are less than 30 feet. Even if there were room to plant Oak trees around, you can’t transplant large trees. And furthermore, the buildings will be so close to the street due to the 110% lot coverage they are proposing, you couldn’t hide them if you wanted to.
There are reasons why so many people I know across a broad cross section of town are against the expansion as it stands, and it is not just “property values”. These include virtual disenfranchisement from the decision process, change of neighborhood character, concern for the underlying undisclosed long-term plans for the hospital in a residential neighborhood, and finally the impact of a large hospital next to multiple schools.
If that makes me a NIMBY, then I am. You can’t make such a significant change to the town we choose to live in and raise our children in without full buy-in by the community.
Put it to a vote. If that is not possible, vote by proxy for the councilman that will ensure that our needs our heard.
