Ridgewood NJ, Village Manager Heather A. Mailander offers a reminder that Tuesday, October 13, 2020 is the last day for residents to register to vote for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election in the State of New Jersey. At the Presidential General Election, voters will cast ballots for President of the United States, U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, Bergen County Freeholders as well as State and Municipal Public Questions. It is up to each and every American Citizen to exercise their right to vote.
photo courtesy of Bergen County Sheriff’s Department
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton, announced today that an agreement has been reached to merge the Bureau of Police Services (formerly the County Police) into the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office. The agreement, which was signed on Friday, August 14th, by Sheriff Cureton and the unions representing Bureau of Police Services officers (PBA49) and Sheriff and Correction officers (PBA134), completes the police realignment efforts that began in 2015.
Under the agreement, members of the Bureau of Police Services will become Sheriff Officers and join the ranks of PBA 134, creating one unified police force on the county level. The merger will allow for greater flexibility, improve public safety, and save taxpayers money. All the public safety responsibilities currently assumed by the Bureau of Police Services will continue to be met by the Sheriff Office.
Hackensack NJ, The group ‘District Bergen’ released the following statement announcing its formation of an initiative to elect freeholders by district instead of at-large:
Today, a group of concerned citizens is launching the “District Bergen” initiative to bring more responsive representation to Bergen County government. The group will be promoting the inclusion of a ballot question in November 2020 to institute a Charter Study Commission in Bergen County, and will advocate for Commissioners who support electing Bergen County Freeholders by districts instead of at-large.
Hackensack NJ, Bergen County is the third-highest taxed county in the United States. Our taxes are so high because the Democrats have complete control of the Bergen County government. They waste our money, expand the county government, and raise our taxes.
Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco announced the launch of the Hackensack Transit Connector bus routes, which will connect Hackensack’s train stations and bus terminal with the County Administrative complex. Joined by Bergen County Freeholders Tom Sullivan, Tracy Zur, Germaine Ortiz, and Mary Amoroso, Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse and Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino, and representatives from the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and the Hackensack Main Street Alliance, Tedesco applauded the partnership between local, county, state, and federal government for making this project possible. Using grant funding from the NJTPA, with additional funding provided by Bergen County, the transit connector routes will help reduce the number of personal vehicles on the roads and provide better public transit access to those without vehicles and individuals with mobility issues. There is no fee or residency requirement to use the transit connector.
The two chairs of Bergen County’s primary political organizations—Bergen County Republican Organization Chairman Bob Yudin and Democratic Committee of Bergen County Chairman Lou Stellato—have a lot riding on the November 3 elections. While some are saying that Yudin’s time as chairman will be deeply impacted by the results of this election, it seems that Stellato is thriving in the position he has held since 2011. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more
Republican Freeholder candidate John Mitchell has released a response to allegations made by Bergen County Democrats that he did not comply with former County Executive Kathleen Donovan’s resolution to eliminate stipends for part-time county employees in 2012. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015, 11:57 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015, 12:01 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A frequent critic of Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli was removed from the county freeholder meeting late Wednesday night after attempting to play a video of a woman who claims authorities did not impose sufficient penalties on a Teaneck dermatologist who has been accused of sexual misconduct with patients.
Freeholder Chairwoman Joan Voss declared that the board would not allow the video to be played until the board’s lawyer has a chance to review the legality of showing it. The video was posted on YouTube earlier in the day.
That decision threw the room into tumult when Molinelli critic Bill Brennan attempted to play the video anyway.
“Mr. Brennan, I am going to have you removed if you do not stop, and I mean it,” Voss said shortly before two officers led him out of the freeholder chambers.
Brennan — a former firefighter who runs a Facebook page critical of the prosecutor — and several others attended the meeting to call on the Board of Freeholders to ask that it petition the state attorney general to take over Molinelli’s office.
Among them was Carlstadt Mayor William Roseman, who was accused by Molinelli’s office of allowing his ex-wife to continue to receive health benefits after their divorce.
The state Supreme Court ruled in June in a sharply worded decision that prosecutors had wrongly denied an application for Roseman and his ex-wife to enter the Pretrial Intervention program, which allows the accused to avoid prosecution by entering a rehabilitation program.
The court called the denial “a gross abuse of discretion.” And a Superior Court judge in Hackensack dismissed the indictment against Roseman and his ex-wife in July.
Molinelli could not immediately be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Woodcliff Lake NJ, Voting is at the heart of democracy. A vote sends a direct message to the government about how a citizen wants to be governed……..That direct message was sent to the commuters/voters by a group of us at the Woodcliff Lake train station early this morning. There is too much at stake not to vote this year and in fact every year. Election Day is November 3rd. The experts are predicting a very low voter turnout. Let’s defy the experts. PLEASE VOTE!
…Pictured with John Mitchell are Woodcliff Lake Council President and Mayoral Candidate Carlos A. Rendo, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, Council Candidate Kristy Herrington, and my Freeholder running mate Daisy Ortiz Berger.
AUGUST 24, 2015, 5:31 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2015, 7:40 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Three Bergen County freeholders want the private operator of the county-owned Bergen Regional Medical Center to expand its drug detoxification unit to help deal with the epidemic of heroin addiction in the county.
But hospital officials say they have already taken the first steps toward increasing the 54 beds currently available for short-term treatment of recovering drug and alcohol addicts.
The issue comes at a time when the heroin-related deaths in Bergen County have spiked. The New Jersey Medical Examiners office reported in June that there were 42 heroin-related deaths in 2014, a 61 percent increase over 2013 and the third largest increase of any county in the state.
Freeholders Thomas Sullivan, Joan Voss and Tracy Zur sent a letter Thursday to County Executive James Tedesco asking him to “pursue a dialog” with Bergen Regional officials about expanding services.
“We are all well aware of the heroin epidemic in our midst,” the freeholders wrote. “We have attended too many funerals for people who have lost their battles to addiction.”
John Mitchell, Taxpayer Advocate Award to Bergen County Sheriff Mike Saudino. Under Sheriff Saudino’s leadership the taxpayer has saved over $2.5 million through prudent budget cuts and significant overtime reductions. Bravo Sheriff Mike!!
Three Democrats will try to fend off a challenge by Republicans led by Bergen GOP Chairman Bob Yudin
By Alyana Alfaro | 07/14/15 1:35pm
In the upcoming November 2015 election, Bergen County Republicans will have the chance to usurp three seats on the Board of Chosen Freeholders currently occupied by Freeholder Vice Chairman Steve Tanelli, Freeholder Tracy Silna Zur and Freeholder Thomas Sullivan Jr.
The incumbent Democrats are opposed by Republicans John Mitchell, Ken Tyburczy and Daisy Ortiz-Berger.
For Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin, the main determining factor of the upcoming November freeholder election is going to be property taxes.
“There was a four percent increase in the total budget this year under the Democratic majority,” Yudin said. “That increase led to increased property taxes.”
According to Yudin, since Democrats currently have the majority on the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders—only two of the seven members are Republican—the issue of increasing the budget became a partisan one.
“To call it non-partisan is a joke,” Yudin told PolitickerNJ. “We need a serious reduction in the budget. The Republican Party in Bergen County is overwhelmingly in favor of a reduction in property taxes.
Eschewing Yudin’s argument, Democrats note that the chairman of the budget process was Freeholder John Felice, a Republican; and that the budget passed 7-0 with GOP support.
Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-37), also believes that property taxes are an issue in New Jersey. However, she thinks that the issue stems from a reduction in state funding to schools and counties, not a function of there being a democratic majority on the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
“I think property taxes are a problem in New Jersey, a big problem,” Weinberg said. “But I don’t think that anybody believes that one party or the other owns it or that one group of freeholders is going to find a unilateral solution.”
JUNE 3, 2015, 7:50 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 9:25 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The Bergen County Justice Center project under construction in Hackensack will cost an additional $1.3 million to build and take about 14 months more to finish, county officials revealed Wednesday.
The freeholders approved a change order Wednesday that calls for paying $1,329,797 more to Gilbane Building Co., the New Brunswick-based construction manager overseeing the project.
The vote to approve was 4-0 with three freeholders absent.
The added payment will keep the firm on site for an additional 14 months beyond its original contract, which was to have expired on July 1, said Ray Dressler, the county’s public works director.
At $147 million, the multifaceted project was already the largest in the county’s history, even before Wednesday’s vote.
Besides a new six-story Justice Center on Court Street, the project includes a new Public Works garage in Hackensack, a Public Works facility in Paramus, a parking deck and renovation of the 102-year-old courthouse.
MAY 18, 2015, 4:43 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015, 6:48 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Print
The Bergen County freeholders have identified just over $1 million in cuts they want to make in the $531 million 2015 budget submitted last month by County Executive James Tedesco.
The proposed cuts are spread across several departments. An exact breakdown was not immediately available.
The cuts may be partially offset by an addition to the budget. The freeholders want to increase spending on the Bergen County Cooperative Library System by $125,000.
A formal introduction of the budget is expected expected later this month.
Tedesco proposed a budget that calls for a 1.7 percent increase in county taxes. That would translate into a property tax increase of $12.73 for a home assessed at the county average of $324,000.
Sheriff Michael Saudino told the freeholders that folding the County Police into his department will save the county nearly $2 million through retirements. The freeholder board approved consolidating the two agencies last year after several years of debate.
Prosecutor John Molinelli told the board that he plans to hire seven former County Police officers to fill vacancies for investigators within his office.
The county will save about $730,760, Molinelli said, because money for those salaries is already in his budget. The savings are based on the presumption that the Sheriff will not fill the vacancies in his department left by the departing county police officers.
Molinelli said four of the seven new hires will continue as members of the regional SWAT team, but they will no longer receive an extra stipend for that work.
file photo County Executive James Tedesco in Ridgewood
Bergen County freeholders approve government reorganization; set up monitor for fraud and waste
MARCH 25, 2015, 9:35 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015, 9:38 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The Bergen County freeholders on Wednesday approved a sweeping reorganization plan for how county government works, including creation of an inspector general post that will investigate for waste and fraud.
In a unanimous, bipartisan vote, the board approved the 21-page rewrite of the county administrative code, which serves as a rule book for how county government operates.
County Executive James Tedesco requested the changes, calling them the most extensive since voters approved the county executive form of government in November 1985.
Tedesco said previously that the changes will make county government more efficient without adding costs. He said the inspector general work will go to one of the attorneys already working in the county counsel’s office.
Chuck Powers, president of Bergen Grassroots, a citizens group that successfully pushed for pay-to-play limits on county campaign contributions, welcomed the new position.
“I think it’s a very exceedingly important development for this county,” Powers said.
Bergen County freeholders agree to enlist ‘Pothole Killer’
MARCH 18, 2015, 7:49 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015, 8:05 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
In the seemingly endless war against potholes, Bergen County officials are bringing back a big weapon: “the Pothole Killer.”
The freeholders voted unanimously to spend up to $60,000 to rent the pothole patching system from Patch Management Inc., a company based in Fairless, Pa.
The vote came after County Executive James Tedesco made a last-minute personal request for the device, which he described as far more effective than the so-called “hot patch” method the county has been using this winter.
The truck costs $9,000 a month to rent. Tedesco said the county was also exploring whether to buy the unit at a cost of about $700,000 and make it available to the 70 towns in the county as a shared service.
Tedesco said the potholes filled by the truck, which the county has used in the past, are guaranteed to stay filled for up to a year if the equipment is used properly.
He said the system had a long snout-like attachment with a compressor that blows out any water in the pothole and dries it.
