Tag: Bergen County

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Panel to explore options on future of Bergen Regional Medical Center

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APRIL 13, 2015, 6:16 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015, 6:19 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Bergen County Executive James Tedesco has created the framework for a 15-person panel to advise him on what could be one of the biggest decisions facing his administration: the future of Bergen Regional Medical Center.

Tedesco signed an executive order Friday creating a health advisory committee. He has not named the panel members except for one: County Administrator Dominic Novelli. But the order outlines where the other panel members will come from and the scope of what they will study. The panel will include:

A representative from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents blue collar and craft service employees at the hospital.
A representative of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union, which represents nurses, social workers, substance abuse and addiction counselors and recreation therapists at the hospital.
A medical doctor with a practice in Bergen County.
Two members of the Freeholder board.
Six Bergen County community representatives.
A representative from the Bergen County Health Department.
A representative from the Bergen County mental health community.
A board member from the Bergen County Improvement Authority.

Tedesco said he expects to name the committee members within two weeks. He added that he will be flexible on a timeline for the committee to report back to him.

“I’ve not put a specific date in it, because I don’t want to hamstring the committee nor the professionals and have them not do a thorough job,” he said.

The county-owned hospital in Paramus is run by a private operator under a 19-year lease that expires in March 2017.

Tedesco has asked the advisory panel to explore the following options:

A third-party operator with a new lease and operating agreement.
Creation of a new joint operating company involving the Improvement Authority and/or the county, along with a third partner.
Creation by the county and/or the Improvement Authority of a not-for-profit corporation to operate the hospital.
Partnering with the Veteran’s Administration to expand veteran services offered by the hospital.
Any other options considered by the committee.

There is one option not open for study. Tedesco, a Democrat, made it clear during his campaign for county executive that he would not favor including the possible sale of the hospital.

On that point he differed with his opponent, former County Executive Kathleen Donovan, a Republican, who argued that all options should be studied, including a possible sale.

Tedesco’s committee replaces a seven-member panel that Donovan named in September. She was criticized at the time by Tedesco and two other freeholders for not having enough people on her panel.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/panel-to-explore-options-on-future-of-bergen-regional-medical-center-1.1308080

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Authorities Tranquilize Black Bear Roaming Around Ridgewood, NJ

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photo courtesy of the Ridgewood Police Department

April 11, 2015 11:25 PM

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A black bear reportedly roaming around Ridgewood, New Jersey, was tranquilized by authorities Saturday.

According to posts on the Ridgewood Police Department’s social media accounts, the 175-pound bear was roaming the community earlier but was removed by the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Ridgewood police tell WCBS 880 a call came in at about 8:10 a.m. about a bear in the area heading into town.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/11/authorities-tranquilize-black-bear-roaming-around-ridgewood-nj/

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Bergen County golfer Morgan Hoffmann’s trip to Masters took a lifetime

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APRIL 4, 2015, 11:38 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2015, 12:02 AM
BY TARA SULLIVAN
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD

Morgan Hoffmann has always been a man with a plan. From the one he hatched as a little boy to become a pro golfer, to the flight plan he registered for sometime today so he’ll be able to fly his private plane from Florida to Georgia, he is a man who decides what to do and does it.

So it is with meticulous planning that Hoffmann has put himself on the cusp of his first Masters tournament, completing yet another step in the golf journey that started on the manicured lawns of his Wyckoff home. A transcendent end to the 2014 season saw him rocket up the year-ending FedExCup standings, and that was followed by a 2015 start that included a recent fourth-place finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. And now the 25-year-old Hoffmann stands among the world’s elite.

But if golf offers many barometers of individual success, from simply making the PGA Tour all the way to contending for major titles, there is an even more exclusive bubble inside that world: qualifying for The Masters. Augusta represents something more, something bigger, something so coveted it is on every aspiring golfer’s dream-come-true list.

“It truly is the experience of a lifetime, playing, walking, watching. If you are a golfer, it’s heaven,” said Jim McGovern, the teaching pro at Haworth’s White Beeches Golf & Country Club and the last area golfer to compete at Augusta, finishing tied for fifth in 1994.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/sullivan-bergen-county-golfer-morgan-hoffmann-s-trip-to-masters-took-a-lifetime-1.1302962

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Bergen County freeholders approve government reorganization; set up monitor for fraud and waste

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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.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-freeholders-approve-government-reorganization-set-up-monitor-for-fraud-and-waste-1.1295532

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United Water replacing water meters in Bergen County to allow remote reading of data

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United Water replacing water meters in Bergen County to allow remote reading of data

FEBRUARY 19, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

United Water has begun replacing customers’ aging water meters with models that can be read remotely and provide water-use data to quickly pinpoint leaks. The project will take several years.

The new meters have sensors that can communicate over a long-range radio network and send frequent updates on the flow of water into a customer’s residence or building. That data can help United Water identify a sudden and sustained spike in water use for a particular customer and let them know they might have a leak on their property, said Steven Goudsmith, a United Water spokesman.

With the old meters, customers might have no idea for weeks that they have a leak until their monthly water bill arrives, Goudsmith said.

United Water, a subsidiary of the French for-profit water giant Suez, provides drinking water to about 200,000 accounts in Bergen and Hudson counties, servicing about 800,000 people.

“The new meters will also provide more convenience for our customers since you won’t have to stay home and wait for someone to come and read the meter,” said Goudsmith. “It reduces the concerns of some seniors with security issues and people getting into their homes by posing as utility personnel.”

Goudsmith did not have an estimated cost for the new meters, because they will be installed over many years.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/technology/united-water-replacing-all-older-meters-1.1274309

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GOP hopefuls line up for key Bergen freeholder elections

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GOP hopefuls line up for key Bergen freeholder elections

FEBRUARY 11, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Four Republicans have declared an interest in running for three seats on the Bergen County Freeholder Board — and potential majority control of the board — this year.

Former Freeholder John Mitchell of Cliffside Park and Ramsey Councilman Ken Tyburczy are unopposed for Republican party line endorsements in the June primaries for the two three-year terms up for election.

They will take aim at seats now held by Democrats Tracy Zur of Franklin Lakes and Steve Tanelli of North Arlington, who are running for reelection.

Also, Dierdre Paul of Englewood and Daisy Ortiz-Berger of River Edge are vying for the party line in hopes of serving out the one year left in the term of James Tedesco, a Democrat, who left the board to become county executive.

Democrats currently hold a 5-2 majority on the board.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/republicans-eye-freeholder-seats-1.1268760

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Biz bankruptcies decline in Bergen and Passaic counties

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file photo

Biz bankruptcies decline in Bergen and Passaic counties

JANUARY 29, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

* Business filings in Bergen, Passaic at lowest since 2007

A decline in the number of business bankruptcies in Bergen and Passaic counties from 2013 to 2014 has left New Jersey with its lowest level of business bankruptcy since the recession started at the end of 2007, federal figures show.

Business bankruptcies fell by 13 percent in Bergen and 30 percent in Passaic, according to figures released by the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. Figures for the state show the business bankruptcy level as a whole nearly the same in 2014 as it was the previous year.

Figures for the state and the two counties now show there were fewer bankruptcies in 2014 than at any time since 2007, the year the recession began in December.

The number of consumer bankruptcies provides a less positive picture, however. Although Bergen, Passaic and New Jersey as a whole saw a fall in the number of consumer bankruptcies, they remain well above the 2007 figure.

Bankruptcy attorneys differed in their assessment of what the data say about the economy, and what is driving the figures.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/bankruptcies-plummet-1.1260782

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Where are the lowest property taxes in Bergen County?

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Where are the lowest property taxes in Bergen County?

BY MICHAEL SHETLER
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Village Square Realty 0569304

January 07, 2015 04:59 AM

Bergen County property tax info released for 2014-15.

The state of New Jersey has just released tax rates for every municipality in the state. Before you look at the chart below, can you guess which Bergen County towns have the highest and lowest property taxes?

Ok, now you can look. If you guessed “Paramus” has the lowest, you would be partially right. While it’s eighth on the list, it qualifies as the lowest taxed borough with affordable home prices. Alpine, Saddle River, Englewood Cliffs, Rockleigh, Edgewater and Franklin Lakes all have an average list price above $1 million. (Teterboro essentially has no single family homes.) In Paramus, the average list is in the $600k range.

On the other end of the spectrum with an effective tax rate more than five times higher than Alpine’s isBogota. The general tax rate in Bogota is 3.630 and and its effective tax rate is 3.222.

What’s the difference between the two rates?

The general tax rate doesn’t take into account that your home’s assessed value is not equal to its market value. If your tax rate is high but your assessed value ratio is low, your taxes aren’t as high as you think they are – you’re not being taxed on the full value of your home!

So if you’re comparing tax rates between towns, use the effective tax rate.

The equalization ratio in the chart is simply an average of the area’s assessed value divided by the market value. The general tax rate is multiplied by the equalization ratio to get the effective tax rate. (Also see this video on comparing tax rates.)

For tax rate info on other counties in New Jersey, click here.

If you’re thinking of buying in Bergen County, call me for a consultation. I’ll give you an overview on how taxes and other factors such as quality of schools, commuting options and population density should figure into your buying decision.

Michael Shetler
Keller Williams Realty
201-421-0506 cell
201-445-4300 office

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Tedesco moves to merge Bergen County Police with Sheriff’s Office

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Tedesco moves to merge Bergen County Police with Sheriff’s Office

January 1, 2015, 12:43 PM    Last updated: Thursday, January 1, 2015, 2:11 PM
By JOHN C. ENSSLIN
staff writer |
The Record

In one of his first acts after being sworn in early Thursday, Bergen County Executive James Tedesco signed an agreement that lays the groundwork to combine the County Police into the Sheriff’s Office.

The agreement — subject to approval by the freeholders — would fold the 103-member County Police force as a bureau within the Sheriff’s office.

It also sets an eventual goal of reducing the County Police through attrition and without layoffs to a core group of 49 sworn officers under the Sheriff’s command.

The 31-page memo, co-signed by Sheriff Michael Saudino and County Prosecutor John Molinelli, marks a significant turning point after more than five years of conflicting studies and intense political debate over how to consolidate county law enforcement.

“I believe this is the right thing to do for the people of Bergen County,” Tedesco said moments after signing the document at a ceremony in the freeholder caucus room.

Tedesco, a former Democratic freeholder, campaigned hard for the consolidation, arguing that it will save taxpayers between $90 million to $200 million over the next 25 years.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/tedesco-moves-to-merge-bergen-county-police-with-sheriff-s-office-1.1184663

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Tedesco ready for quick changes in Bergen County

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file photo Boyd Loving

Tedesco ready for quick changes in Bergen County

DECEMBER 29, 2014, 9:57 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2014, 5:35 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

From the moment James Tedesco raises his hand in the early hours of Thursday morning to take the oath of office as Bergen County executive, the Paramus Democrat will confront a series of decisions that could go a long way toward defining his administration over the next four years.

Many of the big issues that were debated during Tedesco’s campaign — consolidation of county law enforcement, the future of Bergen Regional Medical Center and the 2015 county budget — will present a quick sequence of choices in the first 100 days of his administration.

Other issues, including construction of an access road to a new public works facility in Paramus and his pledge to sit in on freeholder meetings, will help set the tone of his tenure. He has promised a more cooperative style that will be open to negotiated compromise.

Here is a quick look at what to watch for in the months ahead:

Law enforcement: consolidation or bust?

The hottest-button issue in county government over the last five years is due for a reckoning.

Tedesco — who pushed hard for combining the Bergen County Police force with the Sheriff’s Office — has made this effort one of the top priorities of his first 100 days.

For the last several months, a law enforcement task force appointed by the Democratic freeholder majority has been studying how to carry out what Democrats call “a realignment” of the two departments into one mega-agency.

Those efforts picked up steam after Tedesco’s upset victory on Nov. 4 over one-term Republican incumbent Kathleen Donovan.

Donovan opposed combining the departments, disputing the Democrats’ claim that it would save taxpayers $90 million to $200 million over the next 25 years through attrition, not layoffs.

So the stage is set for Tedesco to begin implementing that plan. One thing to watch for, however, is the reaction of the union representing county police officers. Officers for PBA Local 49 say that “realignment” is just another word for “merger.”

If so, they contend, a “poison pill” in their existing contract will kick in, requiring that their members be paid raises totaling about $1 million per year. The freeholders say their plan is not a merger, but rather a realignment that keeps the county police force intact while moving it under the command of the sheriff.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/analysis-tedesco-ready-for-quick-changes-in-bergen-county-1.1183009

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MITCHELL READY FOR FRESH BERGEN FREEHOLDER BID

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file photo Freeholder tells Ridgewood group to develop plan to save Schedler House

MITCHELL READY FOR FRESH BERGEN FREEHOLDER BID

DECEMBER 18, 2014

Meeting up with Mitchell at the Bergen County Young Republican meeting in Saddle Brook this week, he confirmed to me that he is now officially a candidate to return to the body he left in 2014.

“Here’s my speech, you can quote me, ‘I am running for freeholder,’” said Mitchell, who won a convincing victory on a ticket headed by Kathe Donovan and Mike Saudino in 2010, but was defeated by a mere 68 votes in 2013 by now County Executive-elect Jim Tedesco.

Mitchell, by far the hardest campaigner I have personally seen in action, will be a force to be reckoned with. Most expect him to enter the convention as one of the favorites, if it even gets that far.

Most are expecting an announcement by Ramsey Councilman Ken Tyburczy in the coming days that he is also running. The field appears to be clearing for the first time in recent memory for the two candidates to enter the general election unscathed.  While some names are being mentioned for the third seat (the unexpired term of Tedesco), none of the four candidates who entered the freeholder race last year – nominees Bernadette Walsh and Bob Avery, as well as Brian Fitzhenry and Dierdre Paul – seem likely to run at this point according to those I speak with around the county.

For the general election, Mitchell has made significant inroads in two areas that Republicans have struggled with. Hailing from overwhelmingly Democratic Cliffside Park, Mitchell shows relative strength in the southeastern Democratic bastion of the county. He has also made strong inroads with the growing Korean community through years of sincere outreach.

https://savejersey.com/2014/12/john-mitchell-freeholder-bergen-county/

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Another Company looks to leave High Tax Bergen County

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Another Company looks to leave High Tax Bergen County 

Mercedes-Benz reportedly weighing move to Atlanta from Montvale

DECEMBER 16, 2014    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014, 10:24 PM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is looking to move its 1,000-employee North American headquarters from Montvale to Atlanta, several sources said Tuesday.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle first reported on Tuesday that Mercedes-Benz USA is considering the move. A company spokesman declined to comment on the report, but several sources told The Record that Mercedes-Benz was indeed considering leaving Bergen County. One source within the company told The Record that an announcement on a move may come in January, at a company reception.

“As a matter of policy, the company does not comment on rumors or speculation,” said Mercedes-Benz spokesman Rob Moran.

If the reports are accurate, Mercedes-Benz would be the latest in a string of major companies to move their corporate headquarters from Bergen County to the South. The car-rental company Hertz moved from Park Ridge to south Florida, and the BubbleWrap maker Sealed Air is moving from Elmwood Park to Charlotte, N.C., both with the help of tax incentives from those states.

Montvale would be losing its second-largest private employer, behind the accounting giant KPMG, according to the Bergen County Economic Development Corp. Mercedes-Benz is among the top 10 corporate employers in the county and paid $916,700 in local taxes on its properties this year, according to the borough’s website.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/mercedes-benz-reportedly-weighing-move-to-atlanta-from-montvale-1.1157006

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Outside Money and High-placed friends aided Bergen County Democrats

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Outside Money and High-placed friends aided Bergen County Democrats

NOVEMBER 8, 2014, 4:47 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2014, 12:01 AM
BY CHARLES STILE
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD

A trio of Democrats launched a fierce and costly courtship of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Lou Stellato, whose blessing could make or break their bids to become the next New Jersey governor three years from now.

They arrived in Bergen County eager to demonstrate the depth of their loyalty. They brought their checkbooks. They brought their donors and operatives. And one brought an expensive “micro-targeting” guru to pinpoint Democratic votes.

Phillip Murphy is a former Goldman Sachs executive and a former U.S. ambassador to Germany.

Together they invested nearly $160,000 in Democrat James Tedesco’s defeat of Republican County Executive Kathleen Donovan on Tuesday and the reelection of Freeholders David Ganz and Joan Voss. The money represented nearly 18 percent of the Democratic campaign, state campaign finance records show.

But money told only part of the |story.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, an officer of a South Jersey ironworkers local, used his influence to steer ironworker money into the state and helped prevent Donovan’s team from snapping up support from other trade unions.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/stile-high-placed-friends-aided-bergen-county-democrats-1.1129627

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Bergen County Executive-elect James Tedesco vows to push ahead on police merger

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Bergen County Executive-elect James Tedesco vows to push ahead on police merger

NOVEMBER 5, 2014, 11:48 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014, 12:06 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN AND JEAN RIMBACH
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

A day after his come-from-behind victory in the race for Bergen County executive, James Tedesco signaled he will follow through on one of his main campaign pledges: merging the Bergen County Police into the Sheriff’s Office.

At a freeholder work session Wednesday, Tedesco asked the board’s attorney to make a formal request that the county voluntarily drop the lawsuit that County Executive Kathleen Donovan filed against the freeholders seeking to block the merger plan.

Tedesco, a Democrat, defeated Donovan, the Republican incumbent, in a decisive 54 to 46 percent vote on Tuesday.

Tedesco, who will take office in January, has said he will make the consolidation of the two departments one of his top priorities during the first 100 days of his administration.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-executive-elect-james-tedesco-vows-to-push-ahead-on-police-merger-1.1127187

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Tedesco Wins Bergen on promises of police-sheriff consolidation

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Tedesco Wins Bergen on promises of police-sheriff consolidation
November 5,2014
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , While most would admit that taxes are the prime issue , we have for some time questioned the viability of Bergen County . The ugly reality is Bergen is a former shadow of itself . The county depended for years on Wall Street paying extremely high salaries giving the county the luxury of a tax at will mentality ,but since 2008 when massive layoffs hit the street and employment declined in finance that tax at will party came to an end .  Unfortunately the promises made during that period have not . The the ever increasing cost of doing business in Bergen has driven out not only taxpayers  but employers to seek other arrangements another words leave . Leaving the county with a declining tax base but increasing costs for services.

Consolidation of services has been pushed by both parties as a way to save money . Getting off to a fast start with cost cutting Donovan went astray and erred in not realizing that the county government in Bergen is mostly redundant and is itself the cost problem . Donovan pushed for consolidation into a lager county pie which seemed to feed the image of a county power grab , but in Bergen with so many towns having so much of everything it was doomed to fail .

The most obvious point of contention was her attempts to thwart the Police Merger, According to PolitickerNJ ,”Donovan has struggled with the freeholder board over plans to merge the Bergen County Police Department and the county’s Sheriff”s Office. Donovan is opposed to the plan, while the majority of the freeholder board, including Tedesco, now controlled by the Democrats by a 5-2 veto-proof margin, supports the move. The final decision depends on the outcome of ongoing legal battles related to the merger proposal.

Donovan defended her stance on the county police merger issue for both financial and political reasons.

“It’s bogus. I think police departments should merge, but you don’t put a politician in charge of a quasi-military operation,” Donovan told PolitickerNJ.com is response to Tedesco’s comments. “There is no saving of money, because [if the merger took place] we will have to hire non-police people to do things that the police now do.”
https://politickernj.com/2014/03/bergen-county-execs-race-donovan-swipes-at-tedesco-calls-county-police-merger-issue-bogus/

Donovan’s attempts to justify her position fell on deaf ears for over taxed over regulated Bergen residents ( https://theridgewoodblog.net/reader-says-donovans-opposition-to-police-merger-is-the-problem/ ),the feeling being the real story was the ticket income from the Bergen County Police (https://theridgewoodblog.net/county-police-merger-off-due-to-ticket-revenue-from-bergen-county-police/ )

On the other hand , ” Tedesco promises the police-sheriff consolidation will be one of his top priorities during his first 100 days in office. We remain skeptical of the promised savings, but leadership is about taking risk. And if the merger is a bad idea, Tedesco will fully own it.

Promoting smart consolidations and shared services has to be part of the county executive’s mission. So should be addressing alarming drug use – particularly heroin – in the county.”
https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-editorials/tedesco-for-executive-1.1124795

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