>Bill Charlap Trio at West Side Presbyterian Church Parlance Chamber Concerts
Sunday, April 18th at 4PM at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 S. Monroe Street, Ridgewood. “Mr. Charlap is keyborad wizard who continually surprises…his playing left me breathless” Tickets: $35/Adult; $25/Seniors/Students Information: [email protected]
FAVORITE POEM READING Bring your favorite poem in Now!
Ridgewood Favorite Poems Reading Sunday, April 25 at 3:00 PM at the Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, Ridgewood community members of ALL AGES are invited to share a favorite poem by a published poet, famous or otherwise. Please drop off or email ([email protected]) your favorite poem to the Ridgewood Public Library NOW to be included in a favorite poems display. Then join us on Sunday, April 25, to enjoy a variety of favorite poems read by Ridgewood folks, young and old — why not you? The event will be hosted by Celeste Diaz-Estrella — Ridgewood resident, language teacher, and poetry enthusiast. For information, contact Gina Mitgang at 201-670-5600, ext. 110 or [email protected] Link to flyer: https://www.ridgewoodlibrary.org/images/Favorite%20Poem%20Project%202010.pdf
>During the recent Ridgewood Water Boil Alert, some Ridgewood residents were not notified through the calls made by Bergen County Emergency Management. In the future if you would like to be sure that your phone number is on their list, this information may be of interest to you.
To be included on the BC Emergency Management system, go to their website at https://www.bcoem.org/ and click on the link for Emergency Notification. You will be prompted to set up an account where you can select from several contact options and filter for different categories of alerts. There is also an option to add contact information for caregivers and family members outside of the emergency call area.
Once your account is established you may log in at any time to verify your information and to make changes.
>The State Teachers Union warned of chaos in the classroom and “irreparable damage to every shcool system in the state.” I am not a teacher basher, in fact I think we have a lot of very good to excellent teachers in our system, people who really care about their subjects and the kids in their classroom. I know my kids come home from school each day happy and having learned something. But somebody has to get the teachers to understand that the tide has turned and their union is not acting in their best interest. Their union has been exposed for what it is; a huge lobbying cartel that uses children as leverage to further demands that can no longer be met in the economics of today. Unions provided a great service to their members throughout history elevating workers out of poverty and abuse. They morphed into machines that elevated workers to levels superior to many who pay their salaries. Just as the stock market can not go up forever, salaries and benefits can’t keep going up either. Unfortunately we now live in a country where almost 45% of people do not pay any federal taxes and public employees on average make more than private sector employees when benefits are included. That simply can not continue.
It has nothing to do with whether someone likes teachers or not. It is simple economics. A society can not continue to grow and expand if fewer and fewer people are paying for it and the ones that are paying for it are forced to pay more and more. The State of NJ is a microcosm of what is happening in our country. We’ve taxed and spent, spent and taxed and now there is no one left to tax but plenty of people who want to spend. Things have to change, economically there is no alternative. Property values are going down, tax receipts are going down, private sector incomes are going down, spending simply can not go up, the negative spread has gotten too wide.
Unfortunately all great societies come to an end at some point. See the Romans, the British Empire, etc….We are past the beginning of the end of the American Empire. Our moral fabric has been destroyed, (see Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, Enron, Madoff, all the gossip magazines, etc…) our will to make tough decisions and live with the results is gone, our standing in the world has been severly damaged, we no longer have the respect of our allies and we are no longer feared by our enemies. Economically the United States is only now years away from being bankrupt. China is going to own the United States, they probably already do.
Everything needs to be looked at in context. The potential of 30,000 teachers retiring sounds frightening. I’ll take the other side. I’d love to see 30,000 new, young, hungry, enthusiastic teachers enter the system, teachers who haven’t been jaded by the system and the union, 30,000 new teachers who realize how tough it is to find a job in any profession, 30,000 new faces bringing fresh ideas to stale schools, 30,000 new teachers that know they are better than the system and they don’t need the false protection of tenure but would love the opportunity for merit based pay so they can make more money than the artifical pay scale that holds them to the same standards as everyone else. Change is good, it isn’t easy, but it is good. Let’s try it, it can’t be worse than what we have now.
During a municipal budget review held on Wednesday April 14th, Dylan Hansen, the Village’s Network Administrator, publically revealed that 102 Village of Ridgewood employees are currently using cell phones that were paid for by Ridgewood taxpayers. Additionally, all monthly usages fees, in connection with business and/or personal calls, are also paid by Ridgewood taxpayers.
Clearly, the Village Manager and Village Council were either asleep at the switch or absent when cell phones were distributed at Village Hall. It is not possible that there are 102 Village employees whose positions warrant unlimited business and personal use of taxpayer provided cell phone service. This is simply an outrageous situation that must be brought to an immediate end.
The Fly has several questions for the Village Council:
1) What is the percentage of Village employees who have taxpayer provided cell phone service?
2) What is the formal approval process for obtaining taxpayer provided cell phone service?
3) When an employee retires, resigns, or is terminated, is someone checking to make certain that taxpayers aren’t continuing to provide the individual with cell phone service?
4) Is there a list kept of who has these phones or do we just know that 102 are out there? Is the list available for public viewing?
5) Is the value of cell phone service for personal use being reported as income on W2 forms?
The Fly suggests that now is the right time for Village Council members to hang up most of the Village issued cell phones.
Sixty-five percent (65%) of New Jersey voters favor a one-year pay freeze on the salaries of administrators, teachers and school workers to reduce the state’s level of local school aid, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey.
Just 28% of voters in the state oppose this pay freeze to meet Governor Chris Christie’s proposed $820 million reduction in school aid. The newly-elected Republican governor is proposing the reduction as part of his effort to close the state’s $11 billion budget deficit.
The state teachers’ union, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), is angrily opposing the proposed pay freeze, saying it will set back education efforts. But 66% of New Jersey voters say the union is more interested in protecting its members’ jobs than in the quality of education. Twenty-four percent (24%) believe the union places the quality of education first.
Fifty-two percent (52%) think public employee unions like the NJEA put a significant strain on the state’s budget. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree, while another 20% are not sure.
It’s clear, too, that New Jersey voters are following the budget spat between the new governor and the teachers’ union. Ninety percent (90%) of voters in the state say they have been following news reports about it at least somewhat closely, including 55% who are following very closely
The open sea is an open invitation for discovery. It leads to faraway ports of call, uninhabited islands and even cosmopolitan cities. And there’s no better way to discover it than a cruise. After all, you’ll never have to worry about asking for a late checkout when your hotel is sailing along with you.
So where would you like to go? The Caribbean? Europe? Alaska? The possibilities are nearly endless. And with the variety of onboard activities today’s cruise ships provide, you’ll never have to worry about how to spend the hours between destinations. And as if it couldn’t get any better, some of the cruises we offer are fully hosted by the American Express® Mariner Club, which means gracious hosts, unique shoreside events and even parties where you can share stories of the day’s travel with fellow Mariner Club guests. There’s nothing standing between you and “Anchors Aweigh.” Welcome aboard.
Tips for Cruisers:
*Discounted rates are often available during a destination’s off- season.
*If you’re concerned about seasickness, request a cabin located midship.
*Looking to relax? Choose an itinerary that balances sea days with port days.
*If you have kids, inquire about children’s facilities before booking.
*Know your ship in advance; your Travel Center / American Express cruise specialist can help.
Stop in or call The Travel Center / American Express:
The municipal budget is in flux with specific staff and service cuts still unknown, but the village government is kicking around an idea for a cut that residents may embrace.
While discussing this year’s budget for the Traffic and Signal Department, Village Manager Ken Gabbert asked Chris Rutishauser, village engineer, if it is possible to adjust parking meters to allow for a five-minute grace period.
The newer digital meters could be programmed to allow for a grace period, Rutishauser said. Gabbert requested that Rutishauser look at the time involved in opening up each meter to program the grace period.
The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce asked its liaison on the Village Council, Deputy Mayor Keith Killion, if the meters could count backwards to show the actual time of the grace period. Mayor David Pfund said the village should first focus on the meters in the Central Business District before looking at all of the town’s nearly 1,300 parking meters, including those at the Route 17 park and ride.
Revenue discussion
The Engineering Department will lose one employee through retirement who will not be replaced, Rutishauser said. The department might also be issuing three major soil moving permits for the Board of Education’s bond referendum projects at Stevens and Stadium fields and Benjamin Franklin Middle School, and possibly a fourth for remediation work at Hawes Elementary School.
But because about 2,900 truck trips will be required to move the soil, Gabbert said, the permit cost of between $4,200 and $4,800 each will be negated by the damage to neighborhood streets.
The number of permits issued by the Building Department has decreased again this year, “and that’s purely due to the economy,” said Michael Barker, village tax assessor. Revenues totaled $689,086 in 2009, and the department is facing the possible layoffs of one full-time and one part-time employee, said Treasurer Steve Sanzari.
“The building permits have picked up a little bit because of the spring,” said Tony Merlino, Building Department director. “But zoning reviews have kind of remained flat.”
“There’s not building going on,” Barker said. “There’s no added assessment work. And as well as the economy being off, the property values are down, so the work that people are doing is not affecting the overall value of that property.”
Around 300 property owners have filed tax appeals, Barker said, and with declining property values, the village cannot successfully win many of these challenges.
Staff reductions
Planning Board Secretary Barbara Carlton will retire at the end of this year, Rutishauser said, and Pfund asked if the planning and zoning board secretaries could be combined in one position. Rutishauser answered that “it is possible.”
One retiring employee at the Water Pollution Control Facility will not be replaced. Meanwhile, Rutishauser said, the liquid waste acceptance program has added a revenue stream to the village’s income. But he added that the waste water collection system is “aging,” and the village is looking into the possibility of applying for federal grants to upgrade some of that system.
The Finance Department is facing a staff reduction of four of its nine employees, which Sanzari said would have a “tremendous” effect on a department responsible for all the village’s payroll and accounting, all fees, special requests for project cost estimates, residents’ tax questions and the $118 million in taxes Ridgewood collects each year.
Employees from the tax assessor’s office could help the finance office at it busiest time of the year, around tax time, to make up for the loss of employees, Gabbert said. The village’s tax collection rate is still 99 percent, which is unchanged from the previous year, Gabbert said.
The village’s animal control officer will retire this summer, and the Health Department is not replacing him, said Health Supervisor Dawn Cetrulo. The department may also lose one part-time employee, Cetrulo added. Tyco Animal Control is currently under contract for $19,200, and that company will pick up the animal control duties of the retiring full-time employee at an additional cost of $28,800, she said.
The Information and Technology Department decreased its budget by 25 percent, said Dylan Hansen, network administrator. Further reductions to the department’s budget could come from reducing the number of cell phones the village issues to its employees. Hansen said the 102 village employees have been issued cell phones, and the council urged Hansen to evaluate which employees actually need them. Councilman Paul Aronsohn asked if the number could be cut in half, which would save between $20,000 and $25,000, Hansen said.
The village spent $205,000 for police and fire communications, landlines, wireless, long distance and Internet connections, but Hansen said by consolidating these services, the village could save an additional $30,000.
>Here are some basic facts on New Jersey’s tax system and how it compares to other states:
Tax Freedom Day Arrives on April 25 in New Jersey Tax Freedom Day is the day when Americans finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year. In 2010, New Jersey taxpayers work until April 25 to pay their total tax bill, ranking them 2nd highest in the nation. This is 16 days later than national Tax Freedom Day (April 9). The Tax Freedom Days of the neighboring states are: New York, April 23 (ranked 3rd nationally), Pennsylvania, April 13 (ranked 11th nationally), and Delaware, April 10 (ranked 18th nationally). Full study of Tax Freedom Day, nationwide and in each state *** New Jersey’s State/Local Tax Burden Highest in Nation Estimated at 11.8% of income, New Jersey’s state/local tax burden percentage is the highest in the country, well above the national average of 9.7%. New Jersey taxpayers pay $6,610 per capita in state and local taxes. New Jersey’s State-Local Tax Burden, 1977-Present Other States’ State/Local Tax Burdens Historical Chart Comparing All States’ State/Local Tax Burdens from 1977 to 2008 *** New Jersey’s 2010 Business Tax Climate Ranks 50th New Jersey ranks 50th in the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index. The Index compares the states in five areas of taxation that impact business: corporate taxes; individual income taxes; sales taxes; unemployment insurance taxes; and taxes on property, including residential and commercial property. Neighboring states ranked as follows: New York (49th), Pennsylvania (27th) and Delaware (8th). 50-State Comparison of Business Tax Climates (data only) 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index, Sixth Edition (full study) *** New Jersey’s Individual Income Tax System New Jersey’s personal income tax system consists of six brackets and a top rate of 8.97% kicking in at an income level of $500,000. Among states levying personal income taxes, New Jersey’s top rate ranks 6th highest nationally. New Jersey’s 2008 state-level individual income tax collections were $1,457 per person, which ranked 6th highest nationally. 50-State Table of Individual Income Tax Rates 50-State Table of State Individual Income Tax Collections 50-State Table of State and Local Individual Income Tax Collections Per Capita *** New Jersey’s Corporate Income Tax System New Jersey’s corporate tax structure consists of a flat 9% on corporate income. However, corporations with total net income of $100,000 or less pay 7.5% and corporations with total net income of $50,000 or under pay 6.5%. Among states levying corporate income taxes, New Jersey’s top tax rate ranks 5th highest nationally. In 2008, state-level corporate tax collections (excluding local taxes) were $326 per capita, ranking the state 5th highest nationally. 50-State Table of Corporate Income Tax Rates, 2000-2009 50-State Table of State and Local Corporate Income Tax Collections Per Capita and Per Household, 2005 50-State Table of State Corporate Income Tax Collections Per Capita, 2006 *** New Jersey Sales and Excise Taxes New Jersey levies a 7% general sales or use tax on consumers, which is above the national median of 5.85%. In 2007 combined state and local general and selective sales tax collections were $1,424 per person, ranking 22nd highest nationally. New Jersey’s gasoline tax stands at 14.5 cents per gallon and ranks 47th highest nationally. New Jersey’s cigarette tax stands at $2.70 per pack of twenty, which is the 5th highest cigarette tax in the nation. The sales tax was adopted in 1966, the gasoline tax in 1927 and the cigarette tax in 1948. 50-state table of sales, cigarette, gas, beer, wine, and spirits tax rates. 50-State Table of State and Local General and Selective Sales Tax Collections Per Capita *** New Jersey Property Taxes: Highest Per Capita in the Nation New Jersey is one of the 37 states that collect property taxes at both the state and local levels. As in most states, local governments collect far more. New Jersey’s localities collected $2,372.03 per capita in property taxes in fiscal year 2006, which is the latest year the Census Bureau published state-by-state property tax collections. At the state level, New Jersey collected $0.40 in property taxes during FY 2006, making its combined state/local property taxes $2,372.43 per capita, New Jersey’s combined per capita collections were the highest in the nation. State property tax collections per capita by state *** Federal Tax Burdens and Expenditures: New Jersey is a Donor State New Jersey taxpayers receive less federal funding per dollar of federal taxes paid than any other state. Per dollar of federal tax paid in 2005, New Jersey citizens received approximately $0.61 in the way of federal spending. This represents a decline from 1995 when New Jersey received $0.68 per dollar of taxes in federal spending (second lowest). Neighboring states and the amount of federal spending they received per dollar of federal taxation paid were as follows: New York ($0.79), Pennsylvania ($1.07), and Delaware ($0.77). Comparing the amount of federal taxes sent to Washington with the amount of federal spending coming back to the state
April 15th, Tax Day, has become a tangible reminder to Americans of a national tax structure that squeezes working families until they break instead of promoting economic growth and responsible spending. On this day, while filing their taxes, everyone is reminded of the hard truths our country is facing right now. At a time when 15 million Americans remain unemployed and many more are struggling to make ends meet, the Democrat Congress and President Obama continue to advocate policies that increase taxes and add to government spending that is already out of control.
Federal, state and local taxes claim almost 27 percent of the average American’s income. That means most Americans have probably worked the first three months of this year just to pay their taxes. And if Democrats in Washington have their way, that burden will increase dramatically.
President Obama and congressional Democrats are spending the federal government into a record deficit of $1.5 trillion dollars this year alone. Unfortunately, the burden to pay for it will be heaped on the backs of American families, small businesses and family farms for years to come.
The income taxes that Americans are paying today are only part of the exploding cost of government. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are pushing an agenda through Congress that is laying a heavy load on state and local governments. From New Jersey to California, states are facing record deficits and are looking to increase taxes on everything from fast food to property.
This is all on a national level, and of course, locally, New Jersey has its own tremendous tax woes. New Jersey has an $11 billion deficit which is the result of years of underfunded and out of control spending. This amount of deficit doesn’t happen overnight, it’s the result of state spending increases of 16% every year.
Spending usually comes with taxes and, of course, New Jersey is no exception. New Jersey has the highest property taxes, the second highest sales tax, among the highest marginal income tax rates and the sixth highest corporate tax. All of this for a grand total of 115 tax increases in the last eight years.
The solution is not taking more taxes from the American people. The answer is fiscal discipline in Washington, DC and Trenton, and most importantly tax relief for working Americans.
The American people already know that we can’t tax and spend our way back to a growing economy. It’s time for Congress to put the American people first and take steps that begin to take the pain out of Tax Day.
>“Blackmail?” How is it blackmail? He’s not forcing anyone to do anything. He is expressing his opinion and a lot of people agree with him. Tell me we all haven’t become more prudent with our spending. Tell me we all haven’t “cut back” and tried to save more. He’s trying to do the same thing on the State level.
Tell me how the State of NJ lost 121,000 private sector jobs in 2009 and local municipalities and school boards added 11,300 jobs and that makes sense. Tell me how teachers are going to take 4% pay increases when inflation is running at zero, people are getting laid off, property values continue to decrease and health care costs continue to rise and that makes sense. Tell me if in your job you can pay $124,000 towards your retirement, retire at age 49 and receive life time pension payments and health care benefits totaling $3.8 million dollars. My guess is you can’t but at least one retired state employee can.
Look, the system is broken. We’ve got a $11 billion gap on a $29 million dollar budget that doesn’t make for a lot of wiggle room.
Things need to change, dramatically and fast or we’re all going to be in big trouble. The Ridgewood BOE has cut $6+ million dollars out of the budget and some of it is unpleasant because people are going to lose their jobs but you want to know something? Take a good look at what they’ve cut and you’ll see in the total scheme of things there is not going to be a whole lot of difference in the education and activities the students will get. That just gives you a little taste of how much fluff is in not just our school system but the system as a whole. My guess is the next two years at least will be more of the same. We’re actually going to see school budgets shrink, not go up the state cap of 4% and then we can all afford to head back up town and shop or go out to dinner. Someone might want to let the Chamber of Commerce know they are wasting their time bitching about $.25 parking meter rates. No one cares about the quarter it costs to park, no one has money to spend, that’s why no one is up town anymore.
>Dems to Propose $23B ‘Putting Off Hard Decisions’ Fund [Daniel Foster]
National Review blog today: Democratic leadership in the Senate is proposing a $23 billion ’emergency’ fund that would act as a stopgap for states considering layoffs — primarily in education — to overcome budget deficits.
While nobody wants to see widespread teacher layoffs, this bill would represent yet another unpaid-for (hence the ’emergency’ bit, which lets Dems get around PAYGO rules) bailout of state and municipal governments, allowing them to once again put off getting their fiscal houses in order.
Closer to home, it could undermine the gutsy work being done by Gov. Chris Christie in my native New Jersey. As part of an across-the-board effort to close a nearly $10 billion budget deficit (in a $30 billion budget!),Christie has slashed state aid to local schools, but promised to restore it in districts where teachers agree to a one year pay-freeze, and to a 1.5 percent salary contribution to their health insurance. (Most New Jersey teachers currently pay zero for benefits that cover employees and their families from the first date of hire until their deaths — I know!)
A federal bailout to New Jersey could thus short-circuit any chance Christie had of balancing the powerful teacher unions by holding them accountable to parents and taxpayers for their out of control wages and benefits.
>Rockland County, NY-based composer, pianist and percussionist John McDowell teams up with Canadian violinist Emmanuel Vukovich and cellist Julia MacLaine to create the musical ensemble Music For Farms which will perform a concert entitled “An Agricultural Rite of Spring” at the Threefold Auditorium at 260 Hungry Hollow Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY on Friday, May 7, 2010 at 8pm. Tickets may be purchased at the door and are $20 ($15 for students, $10 for children). For more information, call 845-362-0207 or email [email protected].
John McDowell and Emmanuel Vukovich, who practice music and farming side by side (McDowell at Camp Hill Farm in Pomona, NY; and Vukovich in Quebec, Canada), have formed an international initiative, Music for Farms (www.johnmcdowell.net/musicforfarms), which works to revive and sustain local organic agriculture and farming communities through the arts. Julia MacLaine joins them for this special concert. The program, described below, includes the music of Bach and several original works in contemporary and classical idioms, such as their own composition based on the Parcifal legend. The trio’s creative arrangements reflect a weaving of eastern and western traditions, incorporating African drum rhythms. This concert will be a benefit for the Rockland Farm Alliance (RFA). The mission of the RFA (www.rocklandfarm.org) is to facilitate local sustainable agriculture in Rockland County, New York.
Juilliard and McGill trained Emmanuel Vukovich is the recipient of Canada’s first Golden Violin Award, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts Orford String Quartet scholarship. His twin passions of farming and music are brought to expression in this artistic Rite of Spring. John McDowell is best known as composer of the score to Oscar winning Born into Brothels. He has toured with platinum selling rock/world band Rusted Root as a pianist and percussionist and founded/led the internationally acclaimed band Mamma Tongue. Cellist Julia MacLaine has been consistently singled out by critics for her rich tone, sweet vibrato and superb musicianship. Her performances at Carnegie Hall, in Europe, North and South America and Iceland have established her as one of today’s prominent cellists.
The program for “An Agricultural Rite of Spring” will be drawn from the following selections:
Parcifal and Zazamanc, by John McDowell and Emmanuel Vukovich F major, by John McDowell Pachamama’s Catharsis, by Pedro Malpica Swara Kakali (transcription of a work by Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar) Solo violin works by Bach Popular Tango and Brazilian selections
Following a series of public hearings, New Jersey Transit is considering increasing bus and light rail fares an average 10 percent instead of the 25 percent hike it initially planned. Also, three Monmouth County bus routes scheduled to be axed by NJ Transit could be spared, including two Route 9 commuter buses and a local route serving Brookdale Community College and county offices in Freehold. (Higgs, Gannett) https://www.app.com/article/20100412/NEWS03/4120329/1007/NEWS03/NJ-Transit-scales-back-fare-hikes
