Category: Village of Ridgewood

>Village of Ridgewood: SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING PICKUPS New Schedule

12/27/2010 – SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING PICKUPS IS SUSPENDED TODAY – New Schedule

Due to weather conditions solid waste and recycling has been cancelled for today, December 27th. The following new schedule is for the remainder of this week and requires garbage and recycling to be BROUGHT TO THE CURB:

Tuesday, December 28 – East side solid waste collection. Everything must be placed at the curb.

Recycling Area 5 and 6 will be collected.

Wednesday, December 29 – Townwide Commingled

Recycling Area 7 will be collected

Thursday, December 30 – West side solid waste collection. Everything must be placed at the curb.

Recycling Area 8

Friday, December 31 – Village Hall and Services Closed

Due to weather anticipate delays in all cases.

REMINDER: EVERTHING MUST BE PLACED AT THE CURB

>NJ should have a public “Hall of Shame” for all these unscrupulous characters who take advantage of their positions

Unfortunately, I don’t find this type of news surprising anymore. What a sad world we live in.

Ed Hynes and Democratic Freeholder James Carroll should have to reimburse the County for all those expenses he failed to provide receipts for…and NJ should have a public “Hall of Shame” for all these unscrupulous characters who take advantage of their positions and the taxpayers they are supposed to be serving!

>UPDATE: What is the point of having a Lt Governor if they are both out of state at the same time?

NJ Declares State Of Emergency

TRENTON, N.J. — The forecast for significant snow has prompted New Jersey’s acting governor to declare a state of emergency.

Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, who is acting as governor while Gov. Chris Christie and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno travel out of state this week, released the following statement:

“The first action I took as Acting Governor was to receive a complete briefing on the state’s storm preparations from the State Police, the Commissioner of Transportation and the Governor’s Chief of Staff. We have been monitoring the situation throughout the afternoon. Based on current conditions and the forecast I am declaring a state of emergency throughout New Jersey.

more: https://www.wfmz.com/newjerseynews/26282473/detail.html

>The Tax Foundation ranked New Jersey No. 1 among the 50 states for having the highest combined average state and local tax burden on residents

Are Jerseyans overtaxed for everything?

Pretty much, rankings show

By WILFORD SHAMLIN
STAFF WRITER

Is it fair to size up New Jersey based on property taxes alone?

When looking at all the taxes residents and businesses must pay, does the Garden State tax too much?

How does it compare to other states, small and large?

While there are a few individual taxes in New Jersey that are relatively low or average, there’s no arguing that the total tax burden New Jerseyans face is as steep as it comes.

For 2009, the nonprofit Washington-based Tax Foundation ranked New Jersey No. 1 among the 50 states for having the highest combined average state and local tax burden on residents.

New Jerseyans contribute 11.8 percent of their income toward just state and local taxes each year — about $6,610 per person. Pennsylvanians pay 10.2 percent — 11th highest in the nation. Alaskans face the lowest state and local tax burden — just 6.4 percent of their income.

So is it too much to pay? It depends who you ask. But these days, it seems likely that a majority of New Jerseyans would say yes.

According to the Tax Foundation, New Jersey consistently ranks highest in the nation for property-tax burdens (now averaging $7,544 per household).

Robert E. Pritchard, professor of finance at Rowan University’s Rohrer College of Business, said in addition to “sin taxes” on items like cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, it has a tax that kicks in when you die.

“If you want cheap gasoline, come to New Jersey. But if you want to live here, expect to pay very high property, income and sales taxes,” Pritchard said. “And New Jersey has both estate and inheritance taxes . . . If you plan to die here, expect to pay even more taxes when you check out.”

Compared to five surrounding states, New Jersey’s sales tax (7 percent) and cigarette tax ($2.70 per pack) both fall at the high end of the scale.

Delaware has no sales tax, while Maryland, Pennsylvania and Connecticut charge 6 percent on goods and services. New York has a 4 percent state sales tax but, unlike New Jersey, local governments are allowed to increase the sales tax, up to 8.875 percent.

When it comes to the gasoline tax, New Jersey is a relative bargain at 14.5 cents per gallon. The tax is lower in just two other states — Alaska (8 cents) and Georgia (12.4 cents).

New Jersey’s tax rates on alcohol are in the middle of the pack compared to other Northeast states such as Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

The issue of property taxes still creates a national buzz. New Jersey’s first Republican governor since 2001 has pledged to fix the problem. A 2 percent cap on arbitration awards is a key piece of Christie’s reform plan. It applies to salaries across the board, cost-of-living increases and longevity pay, but excludes health care and pension costs.

MORE: https://www.app.com/article/20101226/NEWS03/12260339/Are-Jerseyans-overtaxed-for-everything-

>Bond agency’s ex-chief often dined on taxpayers’ dime Had meals with prominent Democrats, consultants
Monday, December 27, 2010
BY JEFF PILLETS AND ELISE YOUNG
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITERS

Ed Hynes, the recently retired executive director of the Bergen County Improvement Authority, routinely used taxpayer funds to pay for meals with local politicians, Democratic fund-raisers, staffers and consultants who worked for the agency.

Officials with the publicly funded BCIA defended the spending as necessary for someone whose job is to serve essentially as a business executive. But The Record’s review of agency documents suggests taxpayers got scant return on their money.

Hynes, who declined to comment, was paid $150,000 when he retired in September. But he also received reimbursement for an average of $725 a month for expenses — including hotel room service and in-room movies when traveling and dinners at upscale restaurants with local politicians, judges, developers and Democratic fund-raisers. The documents reveal that, since the beginning of 2005, Hynes received a total of $46,388 in expense reimbursements; in many cases, there are no receipts to verify his spending.

Among the items reimbursed are: $450 for “glasses reimbursement,” $200 to install a computer router in his Upper Saddle River home, and $129 for a home subscription in his wife’s name to the Wall Street Journal. The records show more than $6,400 in cellphone charges.

By far, though, Hynes’ biggest expense was food: He spent $24,261 on meals that were reimbursed by the county over five-plus years.

Democratic Freeholder James Carroll’s name appears in the records 17 times, including seven times where he was Hynes’ only dining companion and the tab exceeded $100. He was with Hynes and two others at Morton’s steakhouse in February 2009 for a $565 dinner.

MORE: https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/112491794_Bond_agency_s_ex-chief_often_dined_on_taxpayers__dime_Had_meals_with_prominent_Democrats__consultants.html

>Wishing you A Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year


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>

>Redistricting may impact how loud Hudson is heard

Congressional redistricting roulette soon will spin its web of uncertainty and New Jersey could become the odd man out. (Albright, The Jersey Journal)

https://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index.ssf/2010/12/redistricting_may_impact_how_l.html

>Christie: N.J. becoming more business-friendly

New Jersey is in the process of changing its reputation as an unfriendly place for businesses to do business, Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday. (Willis, Asbury Park Press)

https://www.app.com/article/20101201/BUSINESS/12010360/Christie-N-J-becoming-more-business-friendly

>Happy Chanukah from the Ridgewood blog,

Many Jewish communities in the United States observe the first day of Chanukah, which marks the start of Chanukah, also known as Hanukkah or Festival of Lights. Chanukah is an eight-day Jewish observance that remembers the Jewish people’s struggle for religious freedom.


Jewish communities in the United States celebrate the first day of Chanukah on the 25th day of the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar. The Chanukah period lasts for eight days and is celebrated from the 25th day of Kislev to the second day of Tevet. The first night of Chanukah (or Hanukkah) starts with special blessings at sunset the day before the 25th of Kislev. Many Jewish people light the hanukiah (or chanukkiyah), which is a type of candelabrum.


Many Americans of Jewish faith also eat food fried in olive oil, such as potato cakes, and different fried breads. Chanukah dishes include sufganiot (Hanukkah donuts), potato latkes (pancakes), mandelbrot (this can be sliced like a hard bread), and rugelach (pastry that with different fillings). The first day of Chanukah is the start of a celebratory period in which a four-sided toy called dreidel is used for games. The first night of Chanukah is also a night when people sing traditional songs to celebrate Chanukah. Gift-giving is also popular at this time of the year.

more : https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/chanukah

>Lame-duck Bergen freeholders approve 19 appointments

Bergen freeholders approve 19 appointments in lame-duck session
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
The Record
STAFF WRITER

The Bergen County Freeholder Board approved 19 appointments to county positions Wednesday night in their next-to-last lame duck session of the year.

The appointments, which typically are recommended by the county executive and then approved by the board, included the selection of Uwe Malakas as Bergen County police chief, Louis D’Arminio to the Bergen County Improvement Authority and Nicholas Rotonda to the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority.

The Democrats on the freeholder board, three of whom were voted out of office last month, supported all of Democratic County Executive Dennis McNerney’s recommendations.

McNerney also was defeated in the November and will leave office in January.

Republican Freeholder Rob Hermansen voted against most of the Democratic appointments and criticized them as “extremely questionable” because three of the Democrats currently on the board will not serve next year.

“I don’t think it’s right,” he said. “They shouldn’t have been made at this time … They had all year to do this when they had the majority.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/Bergen_freeholders_approve_19_appointments_in_lame-duck_session.html

>N.J. business group cautious on 2011 economy

The year ahead could be grim for unemployed workers in New Jersey, according to a report released Tuesday by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. Any glimmer of hope in hiring may be matched by layoffs. (Conaboy, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

https://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20101201_N_J__business_group_cautious_on_2011_economy.html#ixzz16rCZcI3t

>Christie looms over redistricting and coming legislative contests, where GOP craves five seats

The roads of Republican redistricting and 2011 campaign strategy all lead back to the Trenton front office where Gov. Chris Christie wields a Teddy Roosevelt-sized club and wants legislative wins. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/43203/christie-looms-over-redistricting-and-coming-legislative-contests-where-gop-craves-five-seats