Posted on

Ridgewood Petitioners : respond to village council regarding timing of referendum question

abraham godwin ridgewood

April 1, 2016

STATEMENT FROM PETITIONERS

Dear Village Council of Ridgewood-

From our attorneys regarding the referendum petition to repeal Ordinance #3521:

“We are confident that the bond counsel is wrong.  Bond ordinances are NOT controlled by the Faulkner Act or Walsh Act
or any other general act that gives NJ residents the right of referendum.  The right to repeal a bond is a right shared by ALL

New Jersey residents under the Local Home Rule Act, not just Faulkner Act towns.”

New Jersey Statutes Annotated. N.J.S.A. 40A:49-10 reads as follows:“Any proposition submitted to the voters of any municipality under the provisions of section 40:49-9 or of section 40:49-27 of this title shall be voted upon at the next general election held in

the municipality at least thirty days after the filing of the protest or protests herein provided for, unless the governing body thereof
shall call a special election therefor.”

If a special election is called, and $40-45,000.00 of municipal funds are used, that will be a choice that the Council alone makes, and for which
the Council alone will be held accountable.

Thank you.

Gail McCarthy & Lorraine Reynolds

Posted on

Ridgewood Mayor says he will be introducing an ordinance to repeal ordinance 3519 (BCIA funding) at the next meeting, and not to proceed with the referendum question on the May ballot

Hudson Street Parking Garage

march 24,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the no2BCIA petition was certified by the village clerk at the village council open public meeting tonight. (certified means she confirmed that we needed 814 signatures and we had at least 814 valid signatures).

The petition provided two options -the council could either withdraw the ordinance 3519 (bond for garage through BCIA), or put that as a referendum question to the voters of Ridgewood.

The mayor tonight at the council meeting, promised that he will be introducing an ordinance to repeal ordinance 3519 (BCIA funding) at the next meeting, and he decided not to proceed with the referendum question on the May ballot.

According to the petitioners , based on understanding of the law, the BCIA option for garage funding, as it was passed in ordinance 3519 appears to be dead for now.

Ridgewood will get a garage that’s funded by a local bond where Ridgewood will be in complete control. (The size of the garage is still an open question, and if you would like to be a part of petition, which will request the council to consider a smaller sized garage that’s right for that specific lot, please reach out to us at its2big.com