>Some thoughts on the New Year generated by the comments on our current mayor:
I don’t always agree with what Killion does, but I strongly disagree with some of the attacks against him. Yes, he may have a tendency to favor the unions, but who isn’t sympathetic to those whom they know, have worked with, etc?
More importantly, I think he is fair and even handed. Keith took over after two bozo’s had served as mayor. The Mancuso/Pfund years saw a decline in Village standards and services. In those days, Keith sat in the audience night after night, speaking up for what he thought should be done. When he retired, he put his effort where his mouth was and he ran for office. He’s worked his rear end off since that time. It is a thankless task — probably a lot like a fire hydrant having to cater to a number of different dogs.
Keith has not been perfect. But I think he’s handled the hand he was dealt with as best as he can, and frankly as best as most of the rest of us could. I don’t understand the approval of the Gabbert raise. That was stupid. I will say it again, that was stupid. Ketih should be looking into replacing Gabbert, not paying him more.
But, when you look at the larger picture, you see that Keith had done a good job. Pfund passed off the Valley issue to the hand picked planning board that passed a resolution over the objection of the majority of Ridgewood resident’s wishes. That issue took much of the VC;s attention away from other issues. It can never be overstated how damaging the hospital over-expansion would have been to the character of the Village. It is criminal how much time and effort was wasted dealing with what should have been a non-starter.
But, as Valley, the Graydon debate, the Graydon lawsuit and other issues were addressed, other problems were brewing. Most importantly, like every other town in America, our tax base was shrinking as costs increased. Basic economic issues needed and need to be addressed. Keith and the other VC members need to turn their attention to those issues. It is the economy stupid.
My own 7-point wish list for 2012:
1. Village Manager: Fire Gabbert and replace him with a no-nonsense leader who shakes up Village Hall.
2. Departments: Make department heads start working or fire them.
3. Budget: Serious assess where we are heading with our budget, anticipated revenues, expenses etc. What are spending money on in the Village and school board budgets and what will we need to keep spending money on to maintain village standards.
4. Downtown building: Remake the downtown without approving the massive building projects on the drawing board. New housing is only going to add to the Village problems. Don’f fall prey to the argument that only massive building will allow Ridgewood to pull out of the recession.
5. Parking — many people remark that other similarly situated towns have dealt with parking in more creative ways than building a massive parking garage. The suggestion i like the best is making our three main roads one way and changing parking from horizontal to angled, so that you can get three cars in where you only get one now.
6. NJ Transit. Don’t let them turn Ridgewood into a transit hub.
7. Fields — even handedness should be the order of the day. Not every field needs to be turfed and lighted.
Happy New Year!
