Ridgewood NJ, the Village of Ridgewood Budget passed no issues, 5-0 .Yes, the threesome Hauck, Puccrelli and Aronsohnand even Roberta were a bit subdued after their humilating loss and rejection at the polls. Both Ramon Hache and Jeff Voigt attended the meeting.
The discussion of Albert’s proposed resolution/ ordinance regarding filming/ recording of public committee meetings was a bit misleading. The deputy mayor made it sound as if he was protecting members who might be talking about personal issues: children’s grades,etc. This novel interpretation was a bit of a stretch .The issue of taping meetings only occurred after citizens were concerned about what was going on at these meetings ie the treats and intimidation and possible undue influence from council members, the Village manager and others. Sure enough when Dana went to the HPR meeting with Lorraine and others, they witnessed Paul aggressively challenging an attendee and then losing it when he realized Dana was filming it.
Our committees seem to have lost all their independence and act sometimes at the bequest of the mayor. One of our readers has suggested that these meetings ( Financial Advisory Committee) should have available minutes and also that the interviewing process is intimidating and biased. In the past , we weren’t interviewed and members who came often and showed interest often become chairperson, etc. We hope that this can be reviewed with the new council.
As far as our water and sludge! , we have problems and all the feel good forums in the world won’t fix that.
