file photo by Boyd Loving
November 27,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
The Ridgewood Blog just received this information –
Ridgewood NJ, In a departure of past practice, Village Council members have hired Mark Ruderman, Esq. and the firm of Ruderman and Glickman to negotiate a contract between the Village of Ridgewood and members of Ridgewood Policeman’s Benevolent Assocation (PBA) Local 20. Â Village Council members authorized the hiring of Mr. Ruderman and his firm under a no-bid contract, expiring on June 30, 2016, for an amount not to exceed $75,000; this was done via Resolution 15-182, passed on June 24, 2015.
For as many years as those who have been around for many years can remember, the PBA contract was always negotiated by the Village Manager, with labor attorney review only after the contract terms were accepted by both parties. Â The staff of The Ridgewood Blog wondered why the sudden change, and why Mr. Ruderman. Â Then we ran across this article:
So in a nutshell, Mr. Ruderman was successful in forcing the Tenafly PBA into arbitration, which resulted in a 3-year no raise contract, and a scaled back pay system that forces their members to work longer before reaching maximum pay. Â What the news article didn’t say was that Mr. Ruderman charged Tenafly $225,000 for his legal/negotiation services. Â Although the Ridgewood contract has a cap of $75,000, the cap expires on June 30, 2016. Â If terms are not reached by then, an opportunity may exist for Mr. Ruderman to either achieve or exceed his Tenafly payout.
The hiring of Mr. Ruderman begs the staff of The Ridgewood Blog to ask what role, if any, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld and Director of Human Resources Sharyn Matthews are playing in the PBA negotiations, particularly since each of their roles include labor negotiations as a responsibility.
Bottom line – Why are taxpayers shelling out $92,000 a year in salary plus benefits for an HR Director who can’t negotiate? Â And then another $75,000 for someone who can? Â Good grief Charlie Brown!
The village seems to look to find ways to waste taxpayer monies.
Fire accepted zero wage increases
The fire dept. as it stands, exists at the pleasure of the council it also defers all ambulance duty after 7pm which makes it largely part time, although they still do fire fighting and extrications 24/7 but get paid to sleep in the fire house after 10 pm, they bargain from a different position. The specter of replacements or staff reduction, to a mix of drivers and volunteers looms large
over their heads.
Why would they have to hire someone isn’t that what the village manager has always done. When did the police contract expire? How much is that costing us?
Labor lawyers are supposed to represent the Village but it sounds like the PBA has signalled they are not negotiating here in good faith and the Village needs more legal representation. The longer the PBA drags this out, the more it costs taxpayers, and the longer it will be before they start making the higher health benefit contributions they should have been making for the past five years…
So let’s see, she hired an HR person to do part of her job. She hired an attorney to negotiate contracts, another part of her job. What exactly does Roberta do for all the money she gets paid? She is the biggest disaster that has happened to ridgewood in a long time. She is costing us a freakin’ fortune, yet Albert and Paul just keep fawning all over her. Does she have any redeeming quality? One? Nope, none.
She got fire to accept zero wage increases and reduced accumulated leave payouts on retirement, that’s one redeeming quality. Hopefully her and the labor lawyer can get police to also accept zero wage increases after their four percent annual wage hikes over the past five years vs. a property tax cap of two percent and inflation under two percent
Doesn’t look good when things go this way. Pretty sure the Village will come out on top.
While I agree that the police should take 0% raise for the 3 years I was just wondering if the Fire Chief took the same deal and the Chief of Police or the 2 captain are the going to accept 0 % for 3 year . As a mater of fact all upper management should accept the same 0 % for 3 year. I find it fundamentally wrong to hold one group to a different standard . Let not forget not just salaries but what about vehicles that are taken home or gas millage stipend, conferences expense accounts include petty cash accounts. education seminars that require hotel and travel expenses. Is the non union managers going to be held to that standard or as in the private sector management take care of management. Just a few more thoughts. Why is the fireman new contract not post on line like the other contracts. Why is it that the Police Chief, Fire Chief or and other management salaries for 2015-2016 post on line?
11:49 if you want to know those items prepare an OPRA request.
I would but the Village has changed the pricing of the OPRA request in an attempt to limit these request. Why should any resident have to request information? It should be posted. The Village has no problem posting thing that they want to push. What happen to our Mayor”s transparency doctrine? So your tell me I first have to request and then pay for information of employees salaries from the very same employees that my tax dollars in part go to pay for their salary.
And to add to that 5:47 why is this information post on the net but stops at 2013. It seems the the Village had no problem post this kind of information in the past.
“And to add to that 5:47 why is this information post on the net but stops at 2013. It seems the the Village had no problem post this kind of information in the past.”
There’s a new sheriff in town and her name is Roberta.
They come and they go 6:10. One suggestion for your new” Sheriff” She should be carful who she steps on she may meet those same people on the way down. Thanks Roberta for your quick response.
You must mean a new “Dictator” She reminds me of Napoleon
“Napoleon complex” is a term describing a theoretical psychological condition occurring in people of short stature. It is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, and carries the implication that such behaviour is compensatory for the subject’s stature.
the blue workers are not taking no %0 dream on , this will go on for a long time, this will not be the first time. we would be a dam fool to roll over. the police should be paying for health bennys just like the rest of the town workers.we all should pay the same ,
“the blue workers are not taking no %0 dream on” There you go folks a master of the english language.
@7:18. That’s why they need a union.
Roberta is completely useless and extravagantly expensive. She has to GO
8:38, you seem to be confused. The PBA is not negotiating with the Villsge in good faith on a new police CBA. In fact, the longer they drag this out, the more it costs Ridgewood taxpayers and the longer the police don’t pay higher health benefit contributions like everyone else. Fire already agreed to a new contract with zero wage increases and higher health benefit contributions – are the police above the same law?
The police union has a full-time, professional labor lawyer who negotiates on their behalf. Thank you Roberta for making sure Village tax payers also have professional legal representation in the negotiations unlike the last time… Anyone who doesn’t understand that $75,000 for a good labor lawyer versus the cost to taxpayers of a five year CBA worth $50 million in today’s dollars is just trying to misinform the public
The Ridgewood PBA does not have a full time lawyer stop spreading your lies. You another hand picked former or present member of the so called FAB.
You know what I like about some of these posters. They move into town and buy these big house and then cry about the taxes.
You must have the inside track 9:34. How do you know all this? Are you on the Village negotiating team ? So the Fireman contract is now the Law of the Land. That a good one. What about management ? Does that so call law apply to them?
Labor union contracts are multiyear, bilateral agreements. NOT LAW 9:34
I’ve played golf with Ruderman.
If he is truly on our side it should turn out well for the taxpayers.
Seems like 8:38 has an agenda
Union contract for the cops and teachers is a convenient distraction for our Mayor and his Super Pac . The building of the multi story garage and increase in density to our CBD slips under the radar.
What agenda would that be 11:26. Give us you take on that comment
10:31, does the Ridgewood PBA have access to a labor lawyer to represent them or not?
Teachers contracts are between the BoE and REA, not Village Council…
Law is Ch 78 PL11 which should have applied to police & fire CBAs from 2011
Wonder why so many posters are upset about the Village hiring a labor lawyer for $75,000 to negotiate a $50mn CBA? It’s best practice in municipal government to have a labor lawyer protecting tax payer interests,
This post above is erroneous – it’s not the Village delaying the new CBA, it’s the PBA. Fire already agreed, why won’t police agree to same terms?
Inflation has averaged 1.7% since 2010, when Ridgewood signed CBAs – during the great Recession – offering +4% annual wage increases for public safety and ahead of legislation calling for a 2% property tax cap. But no comment on that, right ?
To the new sheriff, The p d don’t like her. The fire department is the pink ass kisser. And for the p r department is a real joke. O, boy people just wait for the spring vote.Talk about a clean up on
top manager aisle, Some know that they are gone , And they are trying to do what ever they need to do be for they are sent down the plank. other talk around town is one of the top dog’s is going in the spring.
The police are over paid, And They know it, And love it.
most of my money go,s to b o e, fire, police, around 90%.
Charlie lime is at it again , the police can’t agree to the same terms because the same terms were never offered
Ck or bd @847 your figures include the rollover effect of the baseline pay increase but you fail to subtract the fiscal results of hr 78 and the cost to those who are effected by it so the agreement is not as rosy as u paint it
some on is screening some of the post’s. hummmmmm. I wonder why. we have real time info. big things are going to happen with the new vote in the spring. the back bone is going to run this town like it did in the past. it worked back then and it will work in the future.
CBA,CBA,CBA,CBA,CBA,CBA,CBA,CBA,CBA,
!0:59 hows your golf game. Do you alway play with sharks.
cba, who cares. this is about bigger things.
bring in the county police like they did in alpine a few years ago.
who,s paying the cop’s ot on sunday’s run.
UNION OR NONE UNION. why is the village hiring more and more people to do the work on the city manager. Is it because she can not handle it. Or she does not have the ball’s to go after the p b a. Or is it a point finger motion by a political move. personally I don’t trust the fire department at all. they will only worry about them self. it’s a new bread of workers coming into the fire and police, They are cutting there own throats.The village needs to be very fare with the personnel on who and when should get a fare raise. We have workers in departments that should get get a fare pay raise. maybe some of the top managers should take a zero pay raise for 2016. some know zipo.for a few they should be be sent to retirement.manny years ago these towns did not need a union because we had no problems. but when we have political people going after workers pay to think that they are saving the tax man some pennys, it;s all bull shit.but as far as fire and police they do make a nice pay, good for them. but as in my tax money do we need a paid fire dept. how do other big towns do it.
Offer police the same deal as fire and be done with it
“do we need a paid fire dept” I know and trust that you would be the first one in line to be a volunteer fireman for a few days or nights so you can save your fellow taxpayers money. You can start now by going on the RFD web site and filling out an application. Better hurry because residents are knocking the Fire Dept. doors down to sign up. ..
Thanks 11:47, four percent annual baseline wage increases since 2009 are impressive for anyone – no one in the private sector had had that deal the past six years. As for Ch 78, well we all know the higher benefit contributions won’t hit until the new CBA so that’s another taxpayer subsidized benefit the RPD has enjoyed since 2011 as well. Time for some give back, no?