The regionalization of you local police force doesn’t save money (ask the county sheriff how his merger is doing), it adds to the response time of calls and believe it or not every ridgewood cop has lived in this town at one point or another. Knowing your work environment makes a significant difference in quality.
The schools argument is even more significant. Bad schools = less desirable place to live. Name me one large regional school district that performs in comparison to Ridgewood or Glen rock etc.
I have said this before but living here is not cheap and unfortunately if you can’t afford to live here you should not expect a cut in services to enable your continued residency. Living here is not for everyone and certainly not everyone can afford it. But those who can want what we have now. That includes rear yard garbage pickup.
If you want regional services. The Poconos are close by.
Home rule has a price, especially when you have 500 plus municipalities. Cops per capita and classroom sizes are not outrageous or out of the ordinary. The administrative overlay is. How many chiefs of police compared to NYC which has a similar population to the garden state. School administration duplication is also over the top because of home rule. Unfortunately merging and regionalizing has been an ugly process here. Look at the games when Wallington and Carlstadt were discussing regionalizing with East Rutherford. It’s still about who is the king dog and who is willing to give up on some levers of power.
Look at Ridgewood Water. Residents did not want to merge with Suez because they somehow thought that we have control over the quality of our water and Suez would provide contaminated water.
The water department has mismanaged billing and service delivery. What else is left for them to do?
Now the village wants to buy the Elks building for their offices, as if being in Ridgewood will somehow make them better.
Last Edited: Jul 05, 2017 4:29 PM EDT
By Brenna Weick,
MULLICA HILL, N.J. –
The summer peach season is well underway and the farmers at Holtzhauser Farms know why Jersey peaches are the best around.
“We have an ideal climate for the growing season,” said Tom Holtzhauser, co-owner and operator of Holtzhauser Farms. “We get the perfect sun and temperature during the summer and it makes for an ideal peach.”
While New Jersey is typically known for its perfect peach-growing conditions, last year gave farmers an unusual challenge.
“On April 4th, 2016, the weather went down to 25 degrees … and it killed every single blossom in the orchard,” said Holtzhauser. “We lost our entire crop.”
Holtzhauser acknowledged that it’s always in the back of area farmers’ minds that a weather disaster can occur at any time.
Ridgewood NJ, at Wednesday’s council meeting Heather Mailander confirmed that Ridgewood has settled with its “blue and white collar” unions . They have been out of contract since January 2016. 4 year agreements have been reached from January 16th to December 2019.
Highlights include :
Workers working between 35-40 hours will no longer get time and a half, the new contract requires working over 40 .
Workers can no longer build up “compensatory time ” for over time work and must take time and now must take time and half eliminating build up of huge vacation blocks.
Vacations are capped at 25 days for all new hires , 30 days for existing hires any employees over 30 years with the Village will be grandfathered in and will no longer accrue time off
2 new dental options for employees which the Village only pays $25 per month
New employees hired after July 1st will receive half of their accumulated sick leave with a cap at $15,000. Employees can buy back up to 7 days of sick leave per year and will be paid the first 45 days of the following year .
2016 anyone hired before November 1st 2013 will receive a 1.5% bump up lump sum and adjust all salary scales December 31st.
Salary increases will increase in 2017 1.5%, in 2018 1.75% and 2019 2%.
Anyone hired after November 1st 2013 there is now an eleven step scale ,2016 1% lump sum payment 2017 1%.2018 1.5%,and 2019 is 2%. Step increases will now be either January 1st or July 1st only.
Unions have also agreed to a time keeping agreement with a time clock and all employees will be issued an ID Badge.
Ridgewood Nj, Several Ridgewood PD patrol cars, an ambulance, a paramedic unit, and two (2) fire department vehicles responded to a single family home on Wyndemere Avenue, Ridgewood shortly after 9 PM on Wednesday evening, 07/05. Unconfirmed reports were that an individual was found unresponsive in or near a backyard swimming pool and was later pronounced dead at the scene. Police officers were observed marking the property with yellow crime scene tape as ambulance and fire department personnel left the location. A response team from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Criminal Identification arrived at the scene between 10:45 PM and 11:00 PM.
I don’t think that the police department touches the lives of residents the same way that our teachers and administrators do. A regional board of ed could lead to our children traveling further to school, no more local control and less parental input.
I do not feel the same about RPD. the officer patrolling does not know me and I do not know him/her. It really does not matter. When I visit other towns and cities their school system does not matter to me. They have police departments protecting and serving. As in Ridgewood, I do not know the oficers and it does not matter when they do their job.
Regionalization would allow a more efficient use of police officers and less administration.would save money. New Jersey has hundreds of towns and police departments.
A regional school system would save money too. Education is personal, teachers touch the lives of every child. Once a successful merger of police departments is achieved we could look to see what practices could be applied to schools.
photo by Michele Talamo of NJTPC
July 4, 2017 5:35 PM
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Ridgewood, New Jerseyhonored first responders in its Fourth of July parade Tuesday.
As CBS2’s Scott Rapoport reported, this Independence Day marked the 107th such celebration in Ridgewood. Pride and patriotism were on display, replete with marching bands, military and honor guards flying the flag.
It is a parade that people in Ridgewood look forward to all year long. Some put their chairs out along the parade route days or even weeks in advance to get a good viewing spot.
Travell School knocked it out of the park again this year with the best float by far in the parade.
They are always very creative and have a large contingent of students and parents marching.
Great school spirit. Great float.
(and for the record, I DO NOT have any affiliation with Travell school. I just admire their school and community spirit)
NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Historic Preservation Office declared the Zabriskie-Schedler house eligible for New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. It’s an 1830s-style Dutch wood frame house. Located on the 7-acre wooded tract between West Saddle River Road and Route 17 North in Ridgewood NJ. The four separate parcels at the Schedler tract were also the site to a Revolutionary War battle and have yielded artifacts from that time.
The passing of the infamous bike path should be a cautionary and oft-repeated tale.
The bike path is a prime example of why Aronson dragged us down into the place where we are now. He wanted to “improve” the Village to suit his own myopic view of what a modern day town should look like. He neither sought nor obtained consensus, merely a chorus of well meaning but unbalanced followers who likened what Aronson was doing to the Seventeen Century rebuilding of France.
Don’t get me wrong, bike paths and accessibility are great ideas, but when you build a bike path, you should base it on the needs of the bike rider, not simply the whimsical fancy of a transient politician. When you do the former and not the latter, you end up exactly as we have ended up with a path to nowhere.
As someone observed, the bike path fiasco will be repaired.. The cost of this boon google is the hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax money spent on the project, the hundreds of hours of school and work commuters’ time spent on the Ridgewood avenue back ups, and the constant risk to public health and safety.
On the other hand, Aronson’s other pet projects inflict injury that might never be repaired.
Now, we face the same ills presented by the mutti-family apartment projects pushed through by Aronson. The addition of hundreds of new families downtown concentrated on two streets running along the train tracks and the train station, will increase our tax burden, strain our administrative resources and risk the health and safety of our school children and elderly pedestrians. All to satisfy the whims of a wanna-be politician and the motives of profit-driven developers. As with the bike path, we have the toxic blend of poor planning and mis-guided intentions. Sadly, the monstrosities about to be built will not be fixed as easily as a bike path.
The garage under consideration by the present council is similarly ill-advised , No one has really articulated why we need it, other than to whine about the need to drive around looking for a weekend space or to spout the fantasy that a parking garage will “save” our downtown. Yet, the current council seems inclined to go build for building sake – – exactly the same approach taken by the prior Council..
THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL’S PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA FOR JULY 5
JULY 5, 2017
7:30 P.M.
7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor
Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act
Mayor: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and time of this meeting.”
Roll Call – Village Clerk
Flag Salute/Moment of Silence
Public Comments (Not to Exceed 3 Minutes per Person – 40 Minutes in Total)
Discussion
Ridgewood Water
Award of Contract – Lafayette Reservoir Improvements
Award of Professional Services Contract – Cedar Hill Reservoir Improvements
Parking
Train Station Parking
Municipal Complex Parking Lot
Budget
Authorize Release of Cash Bond
Acceptance of Donation – Board of Education – Stigma Free Initiative
Acquisition of Property
Blue & White Collar Salary Ordinances
Amendments to Salary Ordinances
Policy
Report on Ridge School Traffic Solutions
Enrollment of Unlawful Students in Ridgewood Schools
Fee for Use of Parks
Operations
Major Soil Permit – Chestnut Village7. Review of July 12, 2017 Regular Public Meeting Agenda9. Council Reports11. Resolution to go into Closed Session A. Legal – COAH; Valley Hospital
13. Adjournment
B. Personnel –
12. Closed Session
10. Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)
8. Manager’s Report
Ridgewood NJ, Shortly before 9 PM on Monday, 07/03, all on duty Ridgewood PD units were dispatched to a physical altercation taking place inside of the Dim Sum Dynasty Restaurant, 75 Franklin Avenue Ridgewood. The first arriving units quickly located an adult male who was in need of immediate medical attention, having sustained an extremely serious eye injury. The victim was transported by a Ridgewood EMS ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center’s main campus with paramedic assistance from The Valley Hospital. One (1) adult male was observed being handcuffed at the scene and placed into the rear of a marked RIdgewood PD unit. Initial reports were that the altercation did not involve any employees of the restaurant, only patrons.
Ridgewood NJ, The 2017 theme for the Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration is “Honoring Those Who Serve.” The parade will be held, rain or shine, on Tuesday, July 4, 2017. The day’s full festivities include:
Flag Raising: 9:00AM
Wilsey Square (Ridgewood train station parking lot)
Short program followed by traditional flag raising: Although the parade and firework portions of the day have on occasion been cancelled, the flag raising has occurred without interruption since the start of the committee in 1910.
Parade: Beings at 10:00AM (rain or shine)
Parade runs along Godwin Ave and onto Ridgewood Ave through downtown, turning right on Maple Ave past the grand stand at Village Hall and ends at Leuning Park Follow the line of chairs set up by residents securing their spot. Don’tmiss the competitive elementary school float competition and the Grand Marshal for this year, Bob Paoli, American Legion Post 53 Commander.
Evening Entertainment and Fireworks: Gates open at 6:00PM
Veterans Field (on the corner of Maple Ave and Linwood)
The field is the ideal place to see the fireworks, which have been named the best in Bergen County by 201 Magazine for 11 years running. Bands and food/beverage vendors keep you entertained until dusk. Tickets are sold in advance at various local stores for $10, tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 6-12 at the gate. Children five years and under are admitted for free. NEW this year –tickets available for sale online. Check the website for more details, rules and regulations.
About the Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration
The Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration is organized by the Ridgewood Fourth of July Celebration, Inc., an all-volunteer, non-profit community group. All aspects of this annual celebration including fireworks, bands, evening performers, insurance, police and fire personnel are funded by voluntary contributions from local businesses and individuals. The Committee continues to require the generous donations from the community to keep the tradition alive. The Ridgewood tradition began in 1910 when the local papers, the civic section of the Woman’s Club and the Ridgewood Fire Department joined forces to create a “safe and sane” holiday with an emphasis on Patriotism.
