May 26,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, at Wednesday night meeting the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) presented a review of the fees. This is to be a context for fee reviews in various departments . This blog has never been a friend of the FAC , but we are a fan of stream lining fees, eliminating out dated fees and fees that cost more to collect than the Village earns .
The focus of the FAC report was three major issues :
majority of fees are outdated
sample fees were below comparable towns
Village can improve the bottom line , some fee cost more to collect than they take in
The FAC presentation focused on , process enhancement , review of the fees that matter , cost recovery , regulate activities , market approach compare to neighboring towns
The FAC report suggested to eliminate fees that are gratuitous or inconsequential and create a process to update or review fees.
According to the FAC most fees were set in the 90’s . Often the cost of collection out weights fees themselves . Some fees could also be paid on line like the garage sale fee
There are over 600 line items of various fees , the FAC just looked at the fees that the Village Council can do something about ,the FAC focused on significant fees that matter.
The FAC mentioned that fees a remarkable lack on uniformity , comparing against Redbank, Monclair and Summitt . Council is looking for comparisons with more local town.
The FAC has an ugly history of suggesting new fees with no benefit to residents as we see with the 25% increase for commuter parking. It takes taxes to run a village and if those taxes can’t cover the bill, then we have a spending problem. If additional services are added, fees can support them. No where was the FAC suggesting new services, just that our fees were too low. If regulation requires oversight like in the restaurants, then cost recovery is the perfect model. When those fees are silly like landscaping [whch Summitt doesn’t charge for] then kill the fee. An overall cost recovery model on all fees only invites the expansion of fees as a revenue generator. Put a tax on what you wish to limit, suppress or regulate and eliminate the rest. Also, we have a CFO, why is there even still a FAC?
as a tax pay’er my service’s are not the same as they wear years ago. look at the c b d is falling apart. the road’s and parking lot’s need to be repaved. not repaired. it’s been so manny years . the pool looks like a dump ,what is going on. I took my kid’s for a walk around the pool yesterday and how can they put water in . many things need to be fixed. I would like to know how can they open the pool like this, how can it pass the county and state inspection. the place is very dirty. go to crest wood park in allendale and take a look at that place. much nicer.
what is going with the staffing do we have enough to do what needs to be done in the village, from what i see , KNOW WAY . THIS VILLAGE IS WAY UNDER STAFFED IN ALL AREA,S. some on one the council need’s to address this issue of more staffing. not just fill summer help is going to fix this problem.
so, so true 9,19,
At the last open council meeting they said they are not hiring any summer help at all this year, why i asked. they said to my wife no money put a side. I said o k , did some one take the money for other thing’s like , like,. yeah hello.my god.what a mess. that’s why things are going to the dog’s in this town. time to move out.