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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Glen Rock, Wyckoff and Midland Park have been stepping up their calls for a multi-town water commission to set water rates.
July 1,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Glen Rock NJ, Glen Rock Mayor Bruce Packer had some choice words on his Facebook page for the Ridgewood Village Council and Ridgewood Water .
Packer states, ” The Ridgewood Village Council chose to ignore the facts set out by the expert hired by Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff which made it clear that the Ridgewood Water rate increases of the past were not justified as previously pointed out by a judge and they have reinstated the rate increases that the judge had voided.
In short, your Ridgewood Water rates continue to reflect rate increases that a judge struck down because the Village decided that she was wrong. The Village was empowered by the judge to make this decision and, to me, this outcome is no surprise as they had a choice between admitting that money was historically misappropriated or not admitting that money was misappropriated. They chose the former as they continue to dispute clear facts that have now been laid out in court and during the rate hearing.
The meetings from 6/24 (7 hours long) and the one from a couple of days ago where the decision was made, are now on YouTube (see below).
Once I know our next steps, I will let you know.
**Please note that all views expressed in this post are solely my own.**”
https://www.youtube.com/c…/UC8BZwzy4YPgi_NgvSZ2q9wQ/featured
Nicholas Katzban, Staff Writer, @NicholasKatzban
The village of Ridgewood has hired a consultant to recalculate water utility rates for 2010 through 2012, under the terms of a ruling in a lawsuit brought by other municipalites.
In July, Superior Court Judge Lisa Perez Friscia in Bergen County ruled in favor of Wyckoff, Midland Park and Glen Rock, which are served by Ridgewood Water and had sued the village over several rate increases they alleged were improper. The municipalities argued that Ridgewood Water was overcharging and using the excess fees to cover unrelated operating costs for the village.
In her judgment, Perez Friscia ruled that Ridgewood was “capricious” and “unreasonable” when it raised rates, and ordered Ridgewood to recalculate proper costs for those years and pay any difference back to the plaintiffs.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/ridgewood/2017/09/10/consultant-hired-recalculate-ridgewood-water-rates-years-covered-lawsuit/646960001/