January 31,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in order for the Financial Advisory Committee to be an effective part of the Village governance the following criteria have to be met:
Publish clear and realistic by-laws
Post agenda’s of all meetings
Post minutes of all meetings promptly
All members must sign Financial disclosure forms
All members must sign NDA’s or non-disclosure forms
These are professional standards that are used and commonly accepted everywhere in the world.
In the real world this is how you run a financial decision body. You also attempt to fill the committee with people who have some experience in finance, not failed or “wannabe” politicians who are promoting their own secret agenda.
Unfortunately, until these criteria are met any Financial Advisory Committee or FAC decision should be viewed with maximum suspicion and nothing more that a joke, a joke that could get the Village involved in massive lawsuits.
Agreed on the criteria listed for governance of the FAC, but the post above seems to be a deliberate attempt to mislead people. The FAC is NOT a financial decision body and does not make binding decisions. Their sole purpose is to offer independent, expert advice to the Council members on financial matters including budgeting, municipal tax policy, contract negotiations, and long-term financial planning for capital improvements to the Village. Ridgewood has many talented residents with financial, tax, contract law and budgeting experience. These people are tax paying residents just like all of us and are willing to volunteer their time to give their advice on how the Council can make better financial decisions on behalf of all taxpayers. Why wouldn’t Council members want this?