file photo by Boyd Loving
JUNE 26, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
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Full council discussion needed
To the Editor:
Re: “HR addition spurs debate in Ridgewood,” The Ridgewood News, June 19, page A1.
I disagree with Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck; a discussion by all Village Council members regarding the addition of a Human Resources department was both warranted and appropriate. Any time taxpayer dollars are being spent, the full council should be given ample opportunity to openly weigh in before a decision is made.
This is not the first time Ms. Hauck has publicly suggested that an open discussion by all council members was not necessary because the majority of council members had already agreed on an issue, and this is not the first time I’ve publicly disagreed with her.
During a public meeting several weeks ago, she harshly suggested that there was no need to reopen council discussions on installing sidewalks along Clinton Avenue because the “council majority” had already agreed not to support such an endeavor. Seriously, there was no need for the full council to participate in a continued discussion on a matter related to the safety of school aged children? I think there was such a need, and so do many other taxpayers.
Councilwoman Hauck’s almost laughable suggestion that the democratic process calls for an end to open public discussion once a majority decision is reached, coupled with her continued public display of contempt and arrogance toward selected council colleagues, makes me wonder if this is the type of individual who should continue to represent the village’s taxpayers.
Boyd A. Loving
Ridgewood
Block vote. Thats how they have run this town. They don’t care about the other two councilpersons or for that fact any other resident that may disagree with them. They are going to take care of their friends and supporters
Stop it with the HR. You’re barking at airplanes and you’re making Councilman Sedon look like the political novice he is trying to call the VM a liar in a public Village Hall meeting in order to score political points. By having a full time HR person the Village saves $46,000 in labor attorney fees due to establishment of an HR capability. This will also make all departments more efficient in terms of identifying hiring/firing needs and having one person handle all of that rather than leaving it up to individual department heads. Remember the issues when the Chief of Police made more job offers than he was supposed to and the headache/heartache that caused? Most organizations the size of the Village of Ridgewood with a $44 million annual budget have an HR function. It’s part of an effective organization, and if you cannot understand the organizational design changes here, speak directly with the VM instead of making uninformed comments on this blog or via your proxies on the Council.
I think if they get reelected they (3 amigos) may discuss installing a Monorail in Ridgewood. Of course they will say that this will be done without taxpayers expense as with the garage.
The old Citizen Bank will make a good Casino/ Arts Center. Are you reading this BIG AL? They could be overseen by the Village. This way we can add more people to the payroll. Maybe some ex-council people.
Discussion? No need for discussion! Gwenn, Paul, and Albert are our 3-person council. Ms. Gwenn might want to recall that she won by 6 votes, while Mike and Susan were voted in on a huge margin. It won’t be too much longer before sanity will rule again. No way are the thre of them getting re-elected
She has a lot of nerve.
9:45. Hit a nerve there, take two Xanax and you will feel better
9:45 you’re right. HR can’t be a hobby. Overall having an actual organization with clearly defined responsibilities makes sense for a village operating on a 40+ million budget.
10:31, it seems to me 9:45 may have a VM after their (her) title. Too many references to too many recent and sensitive subjects mentioned.
Even the Supreme Court often publishes the minority opinion–read today’s news!
9:45: The focus of Mr. Loving’s letter was not about the HR function, it was about Ms. Hauck’s unacceptable behavior. Stop trying to change the topic. The mayor loves that ploy too. We’re onto it now.
I see that Paul Smith is drinking the 3 Amigos Kool Aid. Too bad.
With respect to the Clinton Avenue sidewalk debacle, didn’t Gwenn make some asinine comment at the May 6th Council meeting along the lines of: “You people can discuss this all you want to, but I’m never changing my mind.” A similar attitude expressed by Mayor Aronsohn when he revealed that even if the proposed referendum for the parking garage is voted down, they will build the garage anyway. How nice to tell the public that “we don’t care what you say, we’re doing it our way.”
Speaking of Ms. Hauck’s unacceptable behavior how about her remarks about Paulie the Greeks campaign Headquarters at the last Council meetings.
Right 11:29 or Gyenn Brownies
11:29… first, very courageous posting your name, anonymous must be a common name in the village… second, I agree on the restructuring but have many issues with the village just like a lot of other people… keep on flailing in cyberspace….
Was the HR manager hired in accordance with Civil Service guidelines? That is, was the position approved by the Civil Service Commission, was it advertised, was more than one applicant interviewed, etc. Or, was this a friend of the VM’s?
12:38:
Was the HR manager hired in accordance with Civil Service guidelines? NO
That is, was the position approved by the Civil Service Commission, NO
was it advertised NO
, was more than one applicant interviewed, etc. NO
Or, was this a friend of the VM’s? YES
11:28- look at the “re” and first paragraph… HR was the driver… Boyd, like Rurik, say what’s on their mind… nothing wrong with that….
Seems to be reruns of the three stooges.
12:38, thanks for your feedback Susan. Any value added ideas to improve life for residents of the Village,or will your entire stay on the Council be about your ego?
3:11 Councilmember Knudson is the best thing to happen to this cozy council. She sheds a light on the proceedings and offers balanced responses. I do not want three council members to make the decisions for the town. We need independent thinking representatives, not follow the leader.
3:11 Are you psychic? clairvoyant? are you a fortune teller or just looking to assail the good Councilwoman? Hauck is an unmitigated disaster and she should resign before she further embarrasses our Village. Her abject stupidity coupled with her arrogance makes her unfit to sit on Village Council. God help us all.
the heat is on, o boy.
cozy is an understatement the three amigos are aligned in all they say and do like the three headed monster Ghidorah.
I write as a Charter and Card Carrying Member of the Three Amigos Fan Club. YES, Paul, Albert, and Gwenn are three people who represent the best of the Old Ridgewood: Committed, Decent, Bright, Caring, Decisive, etc., etc. I am so pleased that with the exception of the Valley Hospital setback, Ridgewood is making great progress to wake up from its slumber. Here’s to a vital Ridgewood of 2025, with a reborn CBD. And to whoever disagrees with me, please have the decency of coming out from hiding behind Ma James’s apron strings. Identify yourself and let’s have a friendly debate on the issues. This is America. What are you scared of?
Doesnt open public meeting mean discussions are public? she is saying they already decide on things before the meeting and is it legal. next she’ll be telling us we don’t need another election. just crown her queen of the lemmings.
That’s right Rurik you’re in America and the comments on this blog fall under free speech. No one cares to debate your obvious one-sided opinion promoting the Mayor’s agenda. If you cared about our village you wouldn’t have attacked councilman Sedon and instead be demanding answers. The fact that you are a card carrying member of the three amigos fan club and despise our system of government doesn’t say much for you.
Thats great Rurik. We couldn’t tell. You must belong to the Narcissist Club also.
Is Rurik Halaby the name of a real person?
Rurik… There you go again…. I’m sure all of the anonymous posters would have the cojones to walk up to the deputy mayor and call him Pooch… right anonymous posters?? And one more thing Rurik… my opinion is 1-1-1, 1 I like, 1 I’m so so with and 1 I’ll vote against if she runs again… so this time I 1/3 agree with you instead of totally disagreeing with you… cheers
The reason I criticized Mr. Sedon is not because he was asking questions but because he called Ms. Sonenfeld a liar. Maybe out of embarrassment for not understanding the budget process. I can’t believe he was unaware of the hiring of the HR person. Maybe he should have been asking more questions!!
Paul Smith, I like your style. Cheers, Rurik
Rurik, your behaviour on Wednesday night was DISGRACEFUL. You were an embarassment with your attacks on Michael and Susan. Coming on the heels of your eloquent and appropriate wife, you are a freakin’ train wreck. You did not “criticize” Mr Sedon, you trashed him. You owe him an apology. On the other hand, never mind, we don’t even want to listen to you apologize. The sound of your arrogant voice is nauseating. Why don’t you listen to your ranting on UStream and see whether you agree, you were horrible, rude, disrespectful and a general disgrace. Stay home and pontificate to the mirror. We are not interested in your arrogant rantings.
Rurik, he did NOT call Roberta a liar. There you go again, pandering to your base with your exaggerations. He said he was MISLED. And he was. We were all MISLED. They sneaked that Full Time With Benefits slot in without anyone really seeing, and wow, what a freakin’ surprise, she is a FRIEND of ROBERTA’s from the Bergen County Leads. Oh wow, what an unusual coincidence.
There is no call for a Councilman or Councilwoman to state the anticipated results of a future VC vote. To determine the likely result in advance is implicitly to violate the Open Public Meetings Act, since a majority must, ipso facto, have conferred with each other in advance. And if a voting instruction has been issued with respect to a public question that the majority has all agreed to respond to, this is “Partisanship 101” behavior that blatantly violates the Faulkner Act by which Ridgewood has maintained it’s non-partisan form of government and elections over so many years. We should not tolerate such violence being committed to the sensitive workings of our local government. The three amigos cannot leave soon enough. By the way, RH, your slip is showing…
Its our job to speak for all citizens. Misinformation and vitriol should not be used to intimidate council members. The way this blog attacks only Paul, Albert and myself, and never any of the others, illustrates the hypocrisy of your accusations. Why can’t we all work together to try to serve Ridgewood, instead of attacking people you disagree with?
Councilwoman Hauck: And the fact Chris Harris of The Record bases his articles entirely on what is spoon fed to him by Paul, and never checks nor obtains quotes from any other elected officials, isn’t a form of hypocrisy in and of itself? Your faction controls The Record and the opposing faction controls this blog. Suck it up and get used to it honey.
9:14 am – Your track record indicates that you most certainly do not speak for all citizens. Most citizens were in favor of installing sidewalks on Clinton Avenue. You sided with a small minority. Most citizens disapproved of the Garber Square project. You went ahead with it anyway. Give it a rest. We are onto your method of operation.
So it’s okay for Hauck and the 2 other nitwits to attack Knudsen publicly, but when someone returns the favor, she says we should all work together? Talk about a hypocrite.
Ms. Hauck :From the standpoint of a very long time council observer, you have done little, if anything, to foster the idea you “speak for all citizens.” You backed (and no doubt continue to do so) a non-tax paying entity that is currently suing the town that it made it’s money in. Garber Square and Clinton Ave, very bad jokes, not to mention an insult to the intelligence of most people that reside here.
The primary reason you are intentionally confusing being “attacked” with criticism is simply because you are paying more attention to your personal agenda of keeping your friends happy, and NOT “speak(ing) for all citizens.”
Anon 9:19: I Googled the verb to “mislead” and following are the synonyms: deceive, delude, take in, lie to, fool, hoodwink, lead astray, throw off the scent, send on a wild goose chase, put on the wrong track, pull the wool over someone’s eyes, pull someone’s leg, misguide, misdirect, misinform, give wrong information to; informal bamboozle, lead up the garden path, take for a ride; informal give someone a bum steer
“it seemed that Caroline had deliberately misled her”
By telling Ms. Sonenfeld that he was “misled” Mr. Sedon was actually telling her she lied to him. That is a very serious charge, and the bone of my contention. He then should either back up his charge or apologize. And to add insult to injury by then suggesting Ms. Sonenfeld reduce her salary is beyond the pale.
Anon 9:08, I agree with you fully my lovely wife Cynthia who has done more to beautify Ridgewood is one tough act to follow. I hate to disappoint you, though, I am here to stay, and will not just pontificate to the mirror!
Anon 9:40, to give the Devil his due, I fought very hard against the Garber project and yes the Village Council and Manager listened to me and the many people who fought it. The project was reduced substantially.
I was critical of Ms. Knudsen not because I dislike her. In fact I like her and respect her. I was critical of her because of the soft shoe routine she went through concerning the assisted living project.
And for the record, if you read my letters to the Ridgewood News no one has been the target of my ire more than the Mayor. I did this not because I dislike Paul, but because I want him to be the best Mayor Ridgewood has ever had. If he succeeds we all succeed. For the record I like Paul a lot.
As I have mentioned on many occasions one has to run hard to stay in place and even harder to advance. Ridgewood has been on a slow decline, and we need to work hard to return it to its preeminent historical position.
Do you realize, Mr. Halaby, that the synonyms you just used to describe the term”mislead” could have certainly been applied to the “experts,” and most other supporters of Valley ( aka the crown jewel), during past expansion requests ? So I guess it’s only when it’s convenient and serves your purposes do you bother to define it ?
Ridgewood will be on a faster decline if people like you get their way.
Gwen, ARE YOU FOR REAL???? You spew vitriol agains your colleagues whenever it occurs to you. We have seen you attack, belittle, malign Bernadette Walsh, Tom Riche, John Ward, Mike Sedon, Susan Knudsen. Youare as nasty as nasty can be. You always attack people you disagree with. What a hypocrite you are. Do you think anyone believes your ridiculous posting? have another drink, honey, and take a nap.
Rurik – Ms. Sonenfeld absolutely should have her pay reduced. She basically outsourced the HR portion of her job, yes, HER JOB. Create a new position, hire someone in, and then Roberta’s job got easier. Of course her salary should be reduced. Why should taxpayers have to shoulder the burden when Roberta is unable to manage the job she was hired to do. Mike Sedon is absolutely right about this, and he is being applauded by many for saying so. Mike is watching out for the taxpayers’ pocketbooks. Thank you Mike.
4:48pm, the Village saves $49,000 in labor attorney fees a year by having a full-time HR person, plus the role, in a Village with a $44 million budget, will help us identify hiring needs and areas where we are overstaffed. It will make the Village government and public safety more efficient in terms of hiring and firing. This will result in cost SAVINGS to the Village over the long run. If you have ever worked for a private sector firm with $44million in annual expenditures you would understand this inherently. Having the Village Manager handle HR in the past led to massive errors, like when Gabbert failed to promote a fire fighter who should have been promoted based on his military service. That will end up costing Village taxpayers two Fire Captain’s pensions over $100K per year. Gabber also negotiated the re-opening of the Police & Fire CBAs in 2010 by himself, without a labor lawyer present, and that cost us 4%+ annual salary increases from 2009 to 2015 – during a recession when inflation was below 2%. Have you ever considered that perhaps part of the reason the Village has been run so inefficiently in the past 15 years is that the VM wasn’t an HR specialist? Splitting these roles is called organizational change, sorry if you cannot understand that it might actually make the Village more efficient. Thank you Roberta.
It would be great to see Ms. Hauck use her relationships and actually stand up against Valley Hospital and ask them to 1) drop their lawsuit; and 2) pay for the municipal services they consume like police, fire and snow removal. Or suggest that we use the Morristown Medical Center court ruling that it should pay property taxes on virtually all of its property in town, and go after Valley to pay property taxes in Ridgewood on ALL of their property. How can they argue they are a NOT-for-profit when they are paying their CEO $2 million a year and expanding in an arms race to become a “hospital system” with other regional hospitals? I would have a much stronger view of Ms. Hauck’s independence if she supported either of the above ideas without any form of quid pro quo on Valley’s expansion plans in Ridgewood.
10:41-
Splitting these roles up is called organizational change. Spreading the salary out to accommodate two people is called business sense. Creating a part time position and then slipping it into a full time position….all while hiring a friend is called illegal. Hiring a VM who actually has credentials and experience and knowledge of civil service would be called good government., but that did not happen. Hiring an unqualified VM when there were highly qualified candidates is called idiotic and probably illegal.
Thank you Paul, Albert, and Gwenn for bringing this mess called Roberta into our midst.
10:41 since when is a firefighter promoted to captain? A lieutenant would go captain and the pension numbers you refer to would have already been around the $100,000. And you deliberately omit other information. And this is not the private sector so stop making the comparison since the taxpayers funds the 44mil and the HR function was in the VM job description. Where is the $49,000 savings when the HR position is costing $100000 plus benefits and pension. The labor attorney isn’t getting that package. Why do I feel like I’m getting hosed?