>Village manager appointed as CFO in Ridgewood
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
BY MICHAEL SEDON
The Ridgewood News
STAFF WRITER
Village Manager Ken Gabbert will now play a dual role in Ridgewood’s administration — the Village Council approved his appointment as chief financial officer (CFO) by a 3-1 vote at a special public meeting on Tuesday morning.
Councilman Paul Aronsohn cast the dissenting vote. Councilwoman Anne Zusy was absent from the vote. Gabbert was sworn in as CFO immediately following the vote.
“Everyone in village government is being asked to work harder and longer,” Aronsohn said in an e-mail. “It therefore seems wrong to give a few people extra salary, while everyone else works harder for the same salary. A good example is the fire department. The village manager is proposing the elimination of the deputy chief position, but is not proposing an increase in anyone’s salary to compensate them for doing the extra work.”
By serving in both capacities, Gabbert’s salary will increase by $25,000 annually, but the taxpayers will save about $135,000 the first year and about $150,000 the second year of his four-year appointment, officials said. The savings will be realized by not having to hire an additional person to fill the opening left when former CFO Dorothy Stikna retired in January.
“The big picture is restructuring the finance department,” Gabbert said Tuesday morning at Village Hall.
The resolution, read by Village Clerk Heather Mailander, said that the state requires every municipality to have a CFO appointed, and that Gabbert is qualified to hold such a position because he has the proper state certification.
