The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Seaside Heights NJ, Congressman Van Drew issued the following statement opposing a request by Attentive Energy to delay $37.3 million in payments to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) for an offshore wind project located 42 miles off Seaside Heights.
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Ridgewood NJ, Tax Freedom Day is a symbolic date that represents how long it takes for taxpayers to earn enough money to pay their total tax bill for the year. In the United States, Tax Freedom Day for 2023 falls on April 18th, which means that Americans have to work 108 days into the year just to earn enough money to pay their federal, state, and local taxes. This date can vary from year to year and from country to country, depending on the tax policies and economic factors at play.
by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog
Ridgewood NJ, we strongly disagree with the notion that it’s okay for members of the Ridgewood Village Council to vote “Yes; I approve” when one of their respective friends is up for the award of a taxpayer funded professional services contact, or in line to be hired for a salaried Village position.
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Ridgewood NJ, parents once again spoke out at Monday evening’s Ridgewood Board of Education meeting about the increase in class sizes. Taxpayers better get used to it .While staffing shortage were cited as the primary problem, the reality is with more high density housing being targeted for the Valley Hospital property and the already built high density housing attracting more students to Ridgewood Schools ,taxpayers should prepare themselves to spend more money on classrooms and public education.
Continue reading Are Crowded Classrooms the Wave of the Future for Ridgewood Schools
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Ridgewood NJ, speaking of shared services, according to North Jersey Media , Roy Riggitano, chief financial officer for Rochelle Park, a small town in Bergen county which you can drive thru in the length of a sneeze ,earned at least $347,970 last year working for 6 municipalities.
Continue reading We have Found the Poster Boy For Shared Services
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Trenton NJ, Legislation sponsored by Senator Declan O’Scanlon that would lift obstacles interfering with consolidation plans for school districts was approved today by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
Continue reading New Bill Would Lift Barriers for School Districts Consolidation
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Ridgewood NJ, since September New Jersey’s teachers union has been warning of teacher shortages being exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Faced with a teacher shortage , NJ lawmakers are considering having the state recognize out-of-state teaching certificates to make recruiting easier for school districts.
Continue reading Will NJ Teacher Shortages Spur Adaption of Remote Learning?
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Ridgewood NJ, the League of Women Voters is attempting to weigh into the current legal fight over the legality of the ,“One Village One Vote” petition to consolidate election and forever raise your taxes with with less taxpayer oversight .In a massive blow to taxpayers ,the November “yes” vote effectively eliminated the Ridgewood School budget vote . The school budget make up 2/3 of the Village property tax bill and stands at a whopping $115 million dollars .
photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, these “save money” arguments are ridiculous , the Ridgewood School Budget is over $115 Million dollars ,please give us a break !
photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the realty of school budgeting is that many prices of the budget puzzle are not covered by the 2% cap.
False Claim #3 (continued): “If our Board of Education develops a budget that calls for a school tax increase greater than 2%, a public vote is required on that budget.”
TRUTH: To be clear, if our local elections are moved to November, there is no public vote on the school budget. The so-called 2% cap is only on a portion of the school budget There are high priced expenses, like health insurance cost increases, that are exempt from that 2%. In truth, the budget could double, triple, or more over that 2% cap without ever triggering a vote. Case in point, 2018. Our Board of Education elections were in November that year, so there was no budget vote despite a 3.62% increase. That extra 1.62% above the so-called 2% cap represented $1.5 million charged to the taxpayers for the 2018-2019 school year. And once in place, that extra $1.5 million is charged each and every year going forward, compounded by each year’s tax increase. That budget proposal was very vocally disapproved by residents and carried by the affirmative votes of only 3 out of 5 board members.
photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, this is one of the crazier claims made by “One Village One Vote “. “One Village One Vote ” is a special interest group looking to eliminate the Ridgewood School budget vote . The Ridgewood school budget is a whopping $155 million ! The Ridgewood school district need more supervision ,not less, in both its curriculum and budgeting process.
Continue reading Accounting Issues With the “Infant Toddler Program” Need to be Addressed
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, In a strong stance against the bonding legislation passed by the Senate today, Senator Dawn Addiego issued the following statement:
“Asking New Jersey taxpayers to solely shoulder what equates to a 35 year tax increase without the transparency that accompanies a public referendum is the absolute wrong way to approach this crisis. We are all in this pandemic together. Solving the budget challenges brought on by it should be no different. This is a pivotal moment that will impact the lives of New Jersey families for generations – they deserve an opportunity to vote on it.”
