file photo by Boyd Loving

This garage is going to be a money loser and the town will be left on the hook for it.

I was in town on Saturday and the main streets had people circling for spots as usual on Chestnut, Oak, etc. But, if you drove a couple of blocks away to near Mt. Carmel (and where the new garage would be), there were TONS of metered spots open.

I don’t think the parking problem is that there aren’t enough spots in the downtown area. The problem is that people don’t want to walk a couple of blocks for a parking spot. Building the garage right near Mt. Carmel is NOT going to solve this problem. Maybe, if the new garage was at the old garage next to Ben and Jerry’s or somewhere more central and visible would it be more utilized. I just don’t see the draw to have to park in a multi-level garage when there is street level parking available at most times across the street.

There is no way Ridgewood should be spending $10m plus on this.

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.

Reader says This garage is going to be a money loser and the town will be left on the hook for it

Village Budget : Taxpayers On The Hook for Cell Phone Bills of 102 Village Employees

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