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Is the Day of Fiscal Reckoning Finally Coming to New Jersey , with Massive Tax Increases and State Layoffs a Predetermined Conclusion?

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ,New Jersey is facing a financial disaster due to loss in revenue and spike in expenses related to the coronavirus outbreak that could be just weeks away, Governor Phil Murphy .  The governor went on, “We are on the brink of having to make very tough and, quite frankly, very unpalatable decisions.”

Continue reading Is the Day of Fiscal Reckoning Finally Coming to New Jersey , with Massive Tax Increases and State Layoffs a Predetermined Conclusion?

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Assemblyman Kevin J. Rooney ,”New Jersey’s Democrats can’t even agree on how much to increase spending and how much to raise taxes; meanwhile the state careens ever faster toward financial disaster”

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Let me try to put this year’s state budget insanity into perspective. Last year the Democrat Legislature shutdown the government because they were fighting over a $34.7 billion dollar spending plan, and this year they are fighting with Democrat Governor Phil Murphy over two spending plans: their plan to spend $36.5 billion and Murphy’s plan of $37.4 billion. Except this time it is over which taxes to hike to fund their irresponsible spending increase.

New Jersey’s Democrats can’t even agree on how much to increase spending and how much to raise taxes; meanwhile the state careens ever faster toward financial disaster. New Jersey has had more people move-out the past six years than any other state in the nation because housing costs and taxes are sky-high, which makes me ponder when New Jersey Democrats will stop the insanity.

Assemblyman Kevin J. Rooney

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Habernickel Park Aronsohns and Co. Financial Disaster

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June 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, After reading the letter former Ridgewood Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld sent to the Ridgewood news ,readers near Habernickel Park were furious.  Many thought she had some nerve complaining about new tax & added fees when she was one of the main people who put a FOR profit business in Habernickel Park.

If you look back at neighbors complaints & concerns which were never considered when they went ahead with the plan to change the gatehouse to recreational & educational space you will better understand what they are talking about.

First off the owner of the business Stacey Antine & Roberta graduated Bergen Leads together even though Roberta denied helping Stacey get her business into Ridgewood everyone found  it odd since the class was about 10 students.

Healthbarn only pays $3,700 a month for rent never increasing over her 5 year lease, way below the price of an average rental in Ridgewood.   Plus in addition they got 12 parking spots & a garden the size 50 feet X 100 feet.  The property tax alone on the size of her garden would be around $10,000.00 a year.  The previous renter paid about the same for no extra land & no parking spots.

This business was given 12 parking spots for her employees & patrons yet every other business in town have to pay for meters.  Basically she is given about $1,200.00 a month worth of parking for free & displacing parents from parking in the lot for sports practice & games….forcing them to park in the street.

This business is now at the tax payers expense having to under go $20,000.00 worth of construction to the entrance of the gate house to make it handicap accessible for the business.  If this was still rented to a family this wouldn’t have had to cost the tax payers $20,000.00 it could of been a simpler fix to the all ready front steps.

This business was also given by the town through tax payers dollars
1. Stadium lights for the parking lot only since her classes go past 9pm on some nights
2. Security camera with direct feed to the police & village hall
3. Fire hydrant was needed because it is a business & a added hose for watering her garden

This business also get full garbage pick up & recycling from the village.  No other business in town gets this service they have to use an outside provider.

Parks & rec maintain her property which they didn’t do when it was a rental property.  Parks & rec advertises on the website for this business making it seem like this is a partnership & residents benefit from this business.  That is NOT true we as tax payers get 0% from her business.  The village doesn’t advertise for any other business in town so why must they do for her?  When you see the ad on parks & rec it will directly you bring you to Healthbarn so then you can sign up for classes or buy her cookbook which none of it brings in revenue to the village…crazy how much we help her make money all the while residents keep having to pay higher taxes & getting charged fees.

Healthbarn USA offer classes that directly compete with the village classes offered thru parks & rec yet parks & rec continues to advertise for this business….a tad shady!

The present & past business manager ever took the time to punch the numbers he/she would realize the loss of rent the tax payers are incurring.  The amount of tax payers dollars already spent to get this business up & running & the continued expenses (mentioned above).  Police have been called more because of the added traffic & illegal parking of her buses so that I am sure is an added burden to the police.

The neighborhood got slapped in the face with this business. Neighbors keep sending photos to VC about all the violations to the lease but yet nothing has changed the Village continues to support her financially by advertising for her & giving her full access to parks & rec’s resources.

One would wonder HOW this happened……answer Roberts & her friends.  Roberta should be careful what she is complaining about in the paper because her past isn’t perfect.

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Readers say the garage is a done deal the mayor wants this as his legacy and of course it will be a financial disaster for Ridgewood taxpayers

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The garage is a done deal. wake up people. the mayor wants this as his legacy. Of course it will be a financial disaster when we take money from NJ transit and Bergen county and the garage will end up being a commuter parking for out of town people. I predict the taxpayers will get stuck footing the bill as the garage will be underutilized and not meet the expected income Keep in mind that the money we now get from the parking garage goes to subsidize other elements of the town budget. Those funds will now be used to subsidize the debt on the garage so the taxpayers will need to fund that shortfall.

The recent report explaining that the income steam from the garage would be insufficient to cover the cost of the bond used to erect it, and that our entire parking fee system (i.e., meters all over town) will be made much more financially and logistically (in terms of having to pay through until 9pm every night) onerous to motorists in order to defray just PART of the added financial burden, should now be made the subject of a village-wide discussion, regardless of what 3000 die-hard supporters of big government wish to say in a “non-binding” way and during an off-year election cycle when for the first time since 1999 the lowly NJ assembly was at the top of the ticket.