>Opportunities for the Public to Hear about the 2011-2012 Budget
Tuesday, April 12: Coffee with the Superintendent
Ed Center, 49 Cottage Place, at 9 a.m.
Wednesday, April 20: Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
Please Remember to Vote on Wednesday, April 27
Have a question about the 2011-2012 proposed budget?
E-mail [email protected]. Your questions will be answered promptly!
Click here to read the superintendent’s budget presentation : https://tinyurl.com/3fe3ekd
>Ridgewood municipal taxes will increase anywhere between 5.2 and 7.4 percent
Ridgewood budget hearings come to a close
Friday, April 8, 2011
BY MICHAEL SEDON
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Staff Writer
Ridgewood municipal taxes will increase anywhere between 5.2 and 7.4 percent based on the outcome of meetings with village department heads and four scenarios crafted by the village manager.
“Introduction does not mean in any way that the budget process is over,” said Village Manager Ken Gabbert. “It’s introducing it, starting the discussion process, hold a public hearing and it will be adopted at some point down the road.”
All four scenarios include tax increases higher than 2 percent, the state mandated cap on tax increases passed by the state Legislature last year. The law allows for three big ticket items to be excluded from the cap: health benefits, pensions and deferred charges and emergencies, Gabbert explained.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/119495389_Ridgewood_budget_hearings_come_to_a_close.html
>Village of Ridgewood: Village Council and Board Meetings
04/12/11 7:30 PM Board of Adjustment Public Meeting
04/13/11 8:00 PM Village Council Public Meeting
04/19/11 7:30 PM Planning Board Public Meeting
04/20/11 7:30 PM Village Council Work Session
04/26/11 7:30 PM Board of Adjustment Public Meeting
>Just because you were STUPID enough to purchase a home with a VERY LARGE BUILDING next to it does not give you the right to prevent ME for having the best hospital services available
Being anti valley will not get my vote…..when are you NIMBY’s going to get it through your thick heads that valley is expanding? just because you were STUPID enough to purchase a home with a VERY LARGE BUILDING next to it does not give you the right to prevent ME for having the best hospital services available because YOU are worried about your property values…should have thought about that when you bought a home next to A VERY LARGE BUILDING.
dopes !
>Ben & Jerry’s on April 12th between 12-8 pm : Free Cone Day!
Tue, April 12, 2011
Time: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: Ben & Jerry ‘ s, 104 Franklin Ave. Ridgewood NJ
Stop by Ben & Jerry’s on April 12th between 12-8 pm and recieve a free scoop.
We’ll be having a blast with face painting, balloons, fun kid activities and much, much more!
Plus, get to meet singing sensations: Matt Roy from 4:15-5:00pm and Alex Ryan, from 5:30-6:30pm. What a treat!
All proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society.
>BOE Elections : it is time for a change on the BOE and Krauss is smart, articulate, savvy and quick. Her anti-Valley position is a pro-children position
First, all of these posts against CRR or CCR, whichever it is, are clearly written by the same person! So let’s put it to rest now. Krauss is a strong candidate who has studied many of the issues and is quite knowledgeable. Is she as knowledgeable as Sheila or Laurie, of course not that would be impossible, but it is time for a change on the BOE and Krauss is smart, articulate, savvy and quick. Her anti-Valley position is a pro-children position.
Laurie supported Valley and its expansion openly but now says she has no position. Valley is not a strong supporter of the BOE and our students. Valley made calculated as strategic moves after the failed BFMS land grab six years ago. After that debacle Valley began introducing programs for students with the RHAP program, Shadow Professionals and summer programs. But it is disingenuous to suggest these are anything other than a public relations campaign to prevent the BOE from taking a stand against the new Valley proposal. The BOE should sever all programs with Valley immediately and do the right thing by taking a stand against this huge expansion thrust upon all of us, with the greatest adverse impact to our children.
BOE members are charged with the education, safety and well being of our children. This BOE has neglected their responsibilities to our kids and to their learning environment. It is a disgrace. The BOE and Valley have acted with a reckless disregard for our Village children.
To the person who suggested Krauss bring cookies and milk to the BOE: you are irresponsible and ignorant. Maybe Laurie will bring a cake.
>BOE Elections: After speaking to Krauss at length I plan on voting for her.
After speaking to Krauss at length I plan on voting for her. My other choice will have to be Sheila even though I think she has been there too long it seems there is no much of a choice when it boils down to the lesser of two evils.
Goodman has no regard for neighbors! She inflicted that duck pond dog park on everyone without consideration to anyone. The eyesore, noise , stench and crap everywhere is a disgrace. People from all over bringing their dogs. Now the plan is to move that eyesore closer to the road out of concern for the neighbors. Great! Now Ridgewood will greet visitors with a chain link fiasco perpetrated by Goodman. Can it be moved to her backyard?
Then the issue of the lights which Goodman voted on as BOE Liaison to Fields and now, as candidate in the hot seat she back peddles to mitigate her responsibility in the illuminating fiasco.
from the patch; ‘Laurie Goodman, who had voted in favor of the proposed (light) revision as liaison, said it was difficult as “much has to be left to the imagination.”
what part was left to the imagination? can the taxpayers of ridgewood take this candidate seriously? short answer is no.
>BOE Elections : It is well documented that Christina spoke against and Laurie Goodman spoke for the Valley expansion
First of all, it’s CRR (concerned residents of ridgewood), second, the issue of Valley Hospital did not come up and was not addressed by any candidate. It is well documented that Christina spoke against and Laurie Goodman spoke for the expansion at the planning board meetings.
Christina is new to speaking in public as well as debates. I have seen her speak among small groups of people and she comes across beautifully. She has done a lot of research, knows her facts, and has strong opinions on many of the issues. She wants to reduce the tax burden while maintaining the quality of education we have and I for one know she can help. I can only guess that nerves played a part in her performance. She has been considering running for a long time and is not a one issue candidate. I believe she will bring a fresh set of ideas and opinions to the currently “cloned” and “robotic” opinions of the board. She will be the only candidate I vote for.
>BOE Elections : Are we now requiring a litmus test for our BOE elected officials
I too am a concerned citizen of this town and I am concerned that the CCR would endorse a candidate for the BOE. Are we now requiring a litmus test for our BOE elected officials? This is an endorsement that does not speak to the needs of our children but just to someone’s anti-Valley stand.
How very sad…As far as I am aware, neither Sheila nor Laurie has taken a pro or anti Valley stand and this is how it should be when you are running for the BOE. The CCR may be correct on their Valley position but they are turning this town into a one issue community. Stridency is never good particularly when it comes to an issue as important and complex as the BOE and the education of our children. In fact 9:17 PM, Sheila has taken a strong stand on the safety of our children and construction requirements IF it comes to that. The CCR has really done a disservice to this community.
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Saladworks to Develop Six Locations in Bergen County
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Saladworks, the nation’s first and largest fresh-tossed salad franchise concept, announces an agreement with a multi-unit developer for six locations in Bergen County, NJ. The agreement plans for one store to open per year for the first four years and two stores for the fifth year. The first store of this new agreement is slated to open later this year.
“Bob Gallo is a welcome addition to our multi-unit franchisees, as well as to the Northern New Jersey market”
New franchisee for the Bergen County, NJ agreement, Bob Gallo of Ridgewood, NJ currently works in real estate development and construction. Looking for an opportunity where he could work for himself, keep a steadier income, and expand quickly, Gallo turned an eye to Saladworks.
“Saladworks was the most attractive franchise to me because of the support they offer to new and existing franchisees,” Gallo said. “I wanted to help develop the North Jersey market and becoming a part of this cooperative and energetic team is helping me do so.”
With the addition of these six stores over the next five years, Saladworks will have over 40 locations in its home state of New Jersey. With the southern part of the state nearly saturated with locations, the franchise will continue its focus on expanding the densely populated Northern New Jersey market to better serve its fans.
“Coming from a real estate and construction background, I am excited to start the process of building out the 3G model Saladworks. I’m proud to help build both the Saladworks brand and national presence,” Gallo said.
“Bob Gallo is a welcome addition to our multi-unit franchisees, as well as to the Northern New Jersey market,” said Founder/CEO, John Scardapane. “The majority of Saladworks franchisees are multi-unit operators, which is a testament to their loyalty to the brand and the scalability of Saladworks.”
Saladworks, the nation’s first and largest fresh-tossed salad franchise concept operates over 100 franchise locations in 12 states. In addition to its existing stores, the chain currently has over 60 units in development across the country.
>Village’s snowfall costs pile up : $36,000 just for salt.
Village’s snowfall costs pile up
Friday, March 4, 2011
BY MICHAEL SEDON
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Staff Writer
Since Mother Nature rarely keeps regular business hours, this winter’s snowstorms dropped some extra expenses on the village, totaling more than $350,000 so far.
Total accumulation for the eight storms that pummeled Ridgewood equaled about 54.25 inches, said local weather enthusiast Roger Wiegand. At one point between January and February, there was nearly one storm per week.
The expense of those storms is borne mainly by three village departments: Streets, Fleets and Parks and Recreation. Snowstorms create overtime costs for various departments as well as “on call pay,” given to employees who must come to work as the winter weather dictates, explained Village Manager Ken Gabbert in an e-mail.
“Staff are paid to be available in case of an emergent need,” Gabbert wrote. “When called into work, they have a minimum of two hours pay paid.”
Most statistics for this story were obtained by The Ridgewood News from an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request. The figures do not include the Feb. 21 snowstorm, for which information was not included in the request.
So far this winter, the village paid overtime to five departments for snow removal: $107,597 for Streets; $33,769 for Parks; $9,377 for Fleets; $7,701 for police; and $3,049 for the Ridgewood Fire Department. A private contractor, Conquest Industries LLC, was paid $123,960 for snow removal. The “on call pay” went to employees of the Streets ($19,368) Fleets ($2,682) and Parks ($13,968) departments.
Salt, calcium chloride and brine are used to help keep streets ice free, and the total cost for those products so far this winter is $40,376, with more than $36,000 of that price tag covering just salt.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/117409838_Village_s_snowfall_costs_pile_up.html
>Village of Ridgewood : More details on the Village budget
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ- Parks and Recreation is looking at a budget about the same as last year of $1.5 million budget, which is supplemented by about $800,000 in gross revenue from programs and the Graydon concession stand.
Graydon needs about 250 tons of coarse sand costs around $50,000, and in a possible repair of a large pump that could cost as much as $5,000. Concession stand revenues last summer were$96,000 , with a $28,000 and $41,000 for supplies, netting $27,000 for the summer season.
If the summer weather is anything like last year, adding the slight increase in fees which still has Graydon offering one of the lowest costs to join of any pool in the area the village will move one step closer to its goal of having the facility break even or pay for it self. After a successful season last year the village is looking to promote the pool a bit to further increase members .
The CBD Project Pride has a tiny budget of $22,900 budget with a committee made up of all volunteers doing the work that would otherwise be done by the Village making the expenditure viewed more as a cost savings.
The number of cell phones issued to Village employees has been decreased in the last two years. The number of cell phones on the Village payroll has dropped from 126, to 96 this year. The It department is now looking to consolidate cell contracts by using shared minute plans lowering the cost of new lines from $40 per month to $10 per month.
>
Last week’s public demonstration by police and fire unions protesting common-sense reforms to employee compensation confirmed a Democratic Party uninterested in solving the problem of high property taxes for middle-class taxpayers, and bodes ill for that party’s claim to ever represent the “center” of NJ’s electorate for years to come. (Michaels, PolitickerNJ)
https://www.politickernj.com/jeffmichaels/45572/democratic-party-crack
>Sweeney looking to force shared services on towns
Sweeney plan removes state aid
State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney is expected to announce today a proposal to give a state commission power to take away state aid from towns, school districts and other government bodies that refuse to enter a shared services arrangement. (Method, Courier-Post)
>Perhaps RHS should help the President out :
White House memo notes shortage of applicants for contest to have Obama to speak at high school graduation
Posted by Peter Maer
The White House is ramping up an effort to promote a nationwide competition to decide which high school wins a commencement speech by President Obama.An internal White House memo indicates that the White House is facing a shortage of applications less than a week before the deadline.
The competition was extended from the February 25 deadline until Friday, March 11 after few schools met the original application deadline. CBS News has learned a White House Communications Office internal memo dated February 22 noted “a major issue with the Commencement Challenge.”
“As of yesterday we had received 14 applications and the deadline is Friday,” the memo said. The memo also urged recipients to, “please keep the application number close hold.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20040100-503544.html
