>Agree about the fields. Maybe a solution for the fields is to finance over 10 years, instead of 25, even if it means a slightly higher rate.
Unfortunately the capital needs fund is tougher. The NJEA has to be reigned in so that our annual operating expenses don’t hit the 4% cap every year before we can ask voters to set aside a few $million every year for such a fund. Of course, that assumes voters would allow such a fund…that is a whole different question. The chronic complainers say we should have one. But, I guarantee if you ask them to approve a budget that sets aside money for future (unspecified) use, the same people with criticize the BOE for wanting a “slush fund”.
The NJEA has secured automatic annual increases for teachers, despite virtually no inflation in the economy for years. In fact, the last 2 years have seen DEFLATION. The teachers have enjoyed an unjustified cost of living increase during that time. Maybe we should have a “clawback” policy, like we are demanding on Wall Street.
How about getting the NJEA to agree to an immediate freeze on ALL salaries and benefits for the first 2 years of thenext contract period? Then, after that, permanently agree to a rolling 5-year average CPI calculation over the preceding 5 years to determine each year’s allowable increase. This would make the cost of living increases fairer and more reasonable to taxpayers
I am no expert. But, my guess is that, in the first 2 years, we could take $7-8mm out of our annual budget. Beyond that the budgets would be approximately $2-3mm less per year, on average. If we wanted to, we could elect to keep that money in the budget and set it aside for a capital fund.
>Dear Mayor, This is just a short letter about something that has bothered me ever since I have moved out of NYC and into Ridgewood. Why are leaf blowers, the companies, the personal ones ( I know about all the rules), allowed to destroy any peace I may achieve by living here, when there is NO Organization regarding this bothersome noise matter. I have to say, it really does bother me. I pay, (I’m divorced, 26k) in taxes all year, and the only thing that I would ask for would be some PEACE AND QUIET. I know it sounds silly, but, I mean it. These awful lawn companies need someone to organize their chaos—-big trucks parked wherever they want, noise and dust, and i go outside to play with my five year old, but, HOLD ON, another leaf blowing co is across the street……It seems so simple, and, I honestly wonder if anyone else is bothered by their brashness regarding uncontrolled parking and their NOISE. I am quite literate Sp! 🙂 and have read all the rules, but, oh, low and behold, if I want to spend some time outside on a Sunday, there go all of my Neighbors with their awful selfish noisy leaf blowers. Please Help Me, I need peace in the period of unsteadiness, Ezra Sesto Ferguson, tax payer and Non complainer and member of the Village of Ridgewood for 15 years.
Please respond to this letter, for it is important to me, Ezra.
>By John Reitmeyer/Statehouse Bureau November 18, 2009, 7:38PM
Much of the focus for New Jersey’s local government leaders at their annual conference in Atlantic City this week is on spending money — despite property tax bills that are at an all-time high.
Attendees are greeted inside the convention center by a sea of booths advertising products and services that are being offered by vendors who feed off taxpayer-funded contracts.
New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine speaks as Herbert Stiles, mayor of Elmer, N.J., and president of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, looks on during the league’s annual conference in Atlantic City in this 2006 photo.
And the agenda for the convention, organized every year by the New Jersey League of Municipalities, is filled with workshops that teach local officials different ways to use their budgets for everything from crime prevention and green energy to transportation infrastructure and “emerging video technologies.”
“You see a lot of ways to spend money,” Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said. “What you don’t see is how to regionalize and save money.” About 20,000 people are expected to attend this year’s event, which runs through Friday. Many are billing their communities for meals and lodging, and most are in a public pension system that is teetering toward collapse, one that was the subject of a conference session held on Tuesday.
Other seminars are geared toward better collecting tax money. One is scheduled for Thursday afternoon that will offer ways local officials can fight their residents’ property tax assessment appeals in an effort to maintain their current budgets. Another workshop scheduled for Friday will teach ways to use digital technology to improve tax maps.
The agenda includes a number of workshops focused on budget savings, including several discussions on consolidation and shared services, two themes that were often heard during the recent gubernatorial election, which saw voters side with Republican Chris Christie, the candidate who most aggressively called for tax cuts and reduced corruption. Others seminars talk about ways to find savings through auditing, energy conservation and the use of new technologies.
“I think everyone here is focused on how we’re going to have more efficient government,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union). “They’re the ones people are stopping in the grocery stores.” But only a handful of workshops will directly take on local property tax bills that are at an all-time statewide average high of $7,045.
Kean and Sweeney participated in a well-attended legislative forum this afternoon, where state mandates and other state policies were blamed. The lawmakers were challenged by Tenafly Mayor Peter Rustin to do a better job of checking state spending.
“The government can’t be all things to everybody,” he said. But when asked what he would cut, Rustin replied: “My budget isn’t as bad as yours.” Sweeney said there has to be a focus on sharing services and overcoming a tradition of home rule that is celebrated at the conference.
“It’s not always the answer, but a lot of times it is the answer,” said Sweeney, who also serves on the Freeholder Board in Gloucester County. The conference agenda, meanwhile, is offering only a few sessions on ethics and pay-to-play — the practice of financing elections with contributions from regular government contractors — despite recent high-profile corruption busts that resulted in the arrests of several officials.
One of those local representatives in trouble, former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, was indicted on corruption charges earlier this week. Ingrid Reed, director of Rutgers’ New Jersey project and the chair of the state’s Local Government Ethics Task Force, led a session today she said served as an introduction.
Citizens are demanding more transparency from their local governments when it comes to budgeting, competitive bidding of government work and conflicts of interest, she said.
“I think that’s really what people are concerned about,” Reed said. “It’s not just bribery that they’re dealing with, it’s relationships that are built up over time that are not examined.”
>Are there compliance regulations in state laws governing with regard to cost of living adjustments with the active employeed NJ teachers? How is it the teachers continue to receive yearly increases when there is No increase in the Consumer Price Index for 12 months from Aug.2008 to Aug.2009, which other programs must comply to. Their premium health plans insurance benefits (not HMO’s) are also expected to increase by 28% for 2010.
Both programs, Social Security benefits and NJ Division Pensions and Benefits in compliance,face a freeze on benefits for 2010, there will be no COLA for 2010
For the past many months (seems like years) I have been reading about the possible closing of Graydon Pool and the building of a different complex on the grounds.
I grew up and lived in Ridgewood until the day I married in 1954. Every day of the summers, since 1932, my brothers and I were at Graydon, almost from sunup until sundown.
When I was 15, Police Chief John Orr asked if I would like to become a swimming instructor. He was representing the Red Cross, which was going to start offering classes for the children of both Ridgewood and Glen Rock. I became one of the first of two women lifeguards as well as an instructor at Graydon, joining many others, mostly teenagers like myself. I look back on this period as one of the best times in my life.
At the end of all the swimming classes in July, Chief Orr would have a great “Fun Day” for all the kids. We had races, some clown divers (my brother Walter being one of them) and, at the end, a big treat: watermelon. It was a great show and a fun time for all.
I was a lifeguard for three years and taught swimming and lifesaving classes for nine years, until I was married and moved out of town. During this period of time, half of the pool near Maple Avenue was open for kids and their boating fun. The rest was split for beginner and experienced swimmers. In each area there was a raft for everyone to enjoy. Those summer days at Graydon were much fun for my brothers and me. We have so many good memories.
Ridgewood does not need a new pool. Graydon is the most wonderful place to enjoy all summer and to make wonderful memories to last forever. I suggest that the powers that be think seriously before making any major changes. I am sure that the real estate agents will agree that Graydon Park is a great selling point for Ridgewood.
11/17/09 10:05 AM EST TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s governor-elect said Monday he’ll be taking office of a state with an even worse financial crisis than previously believed, and he wants the current governor to tighten the state’s purse strings in the meantime.
The budget and finance task force leaders on Chris Christie’s transition team met for three hours Monday with the top budget officials in the current administration of Gov. Jon Corzine to learn details of the state’s budget situation.
The state Office of Legislative Services has estimated that if department budgets continue to grow at their current rate, there could be a shortfall of about $8 billion in the state budget that takes effect July 1.
Task force co-chairman Robert Grady, a former aide to President George H.W. Bush and Gov. Tom Kean, said he now believes the gap will be larger than that — even accounting for a start of an economic recovery that results in rising sales and income tax revenue. Grady did not have an estimate of how much he thought the shortfall would grow.
“That’s a big number when you consider a budget of $28.5 billion,” Grady said.
Christie said he was ready to deal with the problem, nevertheless.
“People voted for me because they wanted spending to be less,” Christie said in a briefing at his transition office down the street from the State House. “They wanted government to be smaller.”
Almost immediately after the meeting, the budget group announced that Christie, a Republican, would send a letter to Corzine, the Democrat he defeated the Nov. 3 election, requesting he nix various spending increases until Christie takes office in January.
The governor should not approve hiring or paid appointments, they said.
Corzine’s office says he is keeping a close watch on the budget. Since the election, he’s asked government officials to find cuts of $400 million to help balance the current year’s budget.
“He will take all necessary actions to ensure that the budget he turns over to the governor-elect is balanced,” said Corzine spokesman Robert Corrales. “And he will review the details of the letter and take appropriate action with this fiscal principle in mind.”
Throughout the campaign, Christie said the state budget was in bad shape and that he would fix it for the future by cutting spending and taxes.
But he wouldn’t lay out many specific cuts or timelines, other than to say that most of the tax cuts he wants to make would not come next year.
On Monday, he said his budget task force would roll out recommendations for cuts in coming weeks.
Leaders of the task force also said they would meet with Moody’s Investors Service, which earlier this year lowered the state’s outlook — a step that could lead toward lowering the state’s bond rating, which would make it harder to borrow money.
Christie reiterated that he would not raise taxes to balance the budget.
“I absolutely believe that we can have New Jersey back to fiscal health by the end of our first term,” Christie said. “There’s going to need to be a lot of hard things that are going to need to be done to do that.”
>I am currently watching the BoE meeting. The referendum came up. They discussed it for a total of FIVE minutes. Brogan said to come to the next public forum at GW on 11/30 to talk about the referendum. Goodman wanted to correct the record in TRW that BF would not be turfed. Hutton said if you want to know why there should be turf, just walk across Stevens field. Brogan(?) said (for a half-minute) that the referendum is more than just fields – and then the talk turned to turf again. Vallerini said that there is no way to change the referendum. (Then, what’s the point to discuss anything, as Brogan said at the opening, other than to push for a ‘yes’ vote)
It seems to me that the BoE wants you to come to the forums or BoE meetings so they can regulate/control the message. Some of the detractors of this blog seem afraid that we may develop an opinion without the proper spin applied by the BoE.
At least, I didn’t hear ‘lets do it for the kids’ once…yet!
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In a tough economy, now more than ever, it makes sense to improve your existing marketing assets such as your website. Because if you’re website isn’t one of your biggest lead generators, why have one?
This intermediate to advanced workshop will explain the main steps you must take in order to come up on the first page of Google and other search engines. We’ll explode some popular myths about search engine optimization and reveal several tricks and tips you can take to increase your website’s visibility today. We’ll also compare legal and illegal techniques to avoid and explore how you can start driving relevant, targeted traffic to your site right away.
COST: Not sure. Probably $20 – $25 which includes lunch
Time: 11:15 AM – 1:15 PM
Location: Natalie’s of Ridgewood, 24 S. Broad St, Ridgewood, NJ
Click HERE for directions
For more information please visit the Ridgewood Chamber website HERE. Or call them at 201.445.2600.
The house is NOT yet finished, though we are getting closer. Will post pictures soon – I promise!
Last weekend, honey and I went out on a date and ate at “Village Green” in Ridgewood, NJ. It was a 5 course meal. It was, after having lived in France for 3 years, not bad at all!! Of course, in Ridgewood, it’s bring your own booze – so the honey brought a bottle of wine – not from his ‘fridge’ (read = expensive wines) because he couldn’t find his key (!) That’s my honey, you have to roll with the punches (he did find it this week, at the office – phewwwww!!!).My honey had, as a starter, chanterelle mushrooms with frisee salad and I had beets with arugola greens. It was very good. We then ordered the escargots bourguignon – OK, 1) the escargots were in a shell and in the shell was bar-b-queish sauce and on the bottom of the plate was the traditional persillade – no garlic!!! What, escargots, NO garlic. No. That was not our favorite. Either you go western (with an caramelized onion ‘compote’ and forget the not so tasty persillade) or you go French and do a persillade with garlic – NO bar-b-que sauce. For the next course, he had monk fish in a creamy sauce (that was delicious) and I had red snapper in a fresh tarragon-citrus sauce – equally delicious and lighter. We then had our ‘meat’ dish. Honey had the crispy duck AND that was something to write home about. I had the rabbit. It was the ‘special of the day’. I love rabbit, though, I have to say, it was a little dry. My honey ended with a peach crumble and, of course, I had my cheese plate. The cheese plate was very nice.
All in all a very nice restaurant and great service. I would definitely go back.
36 Prospect St. Ridgewood, NJ 07450 Tel: 201-445-2914 Fax: 201-251-9510
We would like to thank The Record and Road Warrior John Cichowski for the attention focused on the issue of pedestrian deaths in New Jersey (“Deaths jump 33%,” Page A-1, Nov. 10; “Walking is hazardous for nearly all,” Road Warrior, Page L-1, Nov. 10). Of course, prevention is key and pedestrians must be aware of their surroundings. But something not mentioned is driver accountability.
A year and a half ago on Mother’s Day, our 24-year-old son, Dan, was walking in a crosswalk in broad daylight in Ridgewood, with a green light, when he was struck from behind and killed by a motorist making a left turn. We were shocked and outraged to learn that the driver’s only charge was “failure to yield to a pedestrian.” He received a $300 fine and lost his license for three months. Based on accounts of both attorneys and other victims’ families, unless the driver is drunk or leaves the scene of the accident, greater penalties are seldom imposed.
A car can be a deadly weapon. When drivers get behind the wheel, they must assume responsibility for their actions. Far too many drivers are in such a hurry or are engaged in cellphone use that they are not fully aware of defenseless pedestrians.
Perhaps if drivers knew there were a penalty for injuring or killing a pedestrian, they would slow down and pay more attention to what is going on around them. New Jersey laws do not adequately address drivers’ responsibility regarding pedestrian safety. We urge lawmakers to consider enacting laws more in line with the horrendous consequences of these acts.
>if you voice a ‘NO’ in this town, you become a target. Your business gets blacklisted. You don’t get invited to houses to lunch. You become a social outcast. Why? Because you are viewed as a miscreant.
I have coached, volunteered for numerous Village, sports and school groups and committees. I raised a LOT of money with other dedicated parents.
And I have seen the waste, control and abuse. I’ve had enough. I’m voting NO because it is what my conscience tells me to do. It’s what my kids would expect of me because of the values I have taught them.
I’ll never engage in the ad hominem attacks against those who disagree with me have leveled against me. However, I will never try to lie and attempt to deceive people into voting NO along with me.
I am of the opinion that that BOE has not been up-front with us and expects us to blindly follow. I will not. That is why I spend time educating myself on issues here and within Bergen County.
Here in Ridgewood, I hear the phrase “we can’t do that” instead of “why can’t we do that?”. These extreme times demand representatives on the board that have imagination and intestinal fortitude. Instead, I see capitulation and group think. The last free thinkers have been assimilated by the machine that is the BOE. I used to respect them, and unless they have a change of heart before the bond goes to vote, they will never again receive my vote or financial support.
You’re right, 1133, we should let the garbage take a rest – but I ask you, do you believe in this bind ref 100%? Because if you have any reservations that this is the latest lapse of imagination and leadership by those who work for and represent us, I would ask that you hold them to the job they promised to do.
Money will not solve this problem. It’s time for a new plan.
