The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
file photo by Boyd Loving
The agressive code enforcement is sowing the seeds of discontent. We now have a way to get back at those who annoy us.Thank you Roberta.
August 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood bog
Ridgewood NJ, Readers continue to feel that the agressive code enforcement is an attempt by some Village officials for taking such a beating in the last election. It is clearly a vestage of machine politics to threaten and haress anyone who raises objections with policy. Its also a way to undermine the new council.
Readers say…………..
The Breath of Fresh Air Manager hired a Code Enforcement officer last year to issue tickets for violation. This officer wrote a couple of hundred tickets but I wonder if the other towns also hired their own Code Enforcement Officer to write water violation? ( I DONT THINK SO) So there you have it Ridgewood tax payers. Your getting screwed again.
I can’t believe that we have strict code enforcement for residents and business owners get away with this -except for Tito,s Burritos.
But she did manage to hire a code enforcement person to ticket village residents.
The ever changable leaf schedule is her doing. The way that they ticketed people 4 months after the fact is just irresponsible. What the heck was she doing with the tickets all winter? Common criminals are entitled to a speedy trial. Residents have no way to prove that their leaves were not there or that the village manager changed the schedule – again.
For the summons – the village manager will blame the neighbors. Hey your neighbor reported you, so we had to issue a summons – we did not want to issue it. Nasty thing to cause issues between neighbors to pay the salary of newly appointed white elephants and code enforcement officer. I am pretty sure 600 neighbors in Ridgewood are not going to report their neighbors.
Our Village Manager hire a new Code Enforcement Office to ride around and issue tickets. Don’t try to put it on neighbors vs neighbor. Maybe where you came from that the way it happens. Now that the leaves are gone the newly hired Code Enforcement has to find something else to justify the job Roberta gave her.
file photo by Boyd Loving
There are two questions. 1. Was an HR director necessary when the Village Manager is supposed to manage this function as part of her $150K salary? 2. Did the Village Council violate the Village Code by hiring Matthews prior to creating the position.
The answer to (1) is open for debate. Some agree. Others don’t.
The answer to (2) is unequivocal – the code was violated, and the VC was well aware that they barreled ahead without following the letter of the law.
Yes, Paul, the system is broken. And you deliberately broke it.
The question is WHY? What was the big hurry? Why not get things straight before hiring someone? Why all the subterfuge?
Thank you Mike Sedon and Susan Knudsen for standing up to your law-breaking colleagues on the Council. At least we can be proud that 40% of our elected officials follow the laws they were hired to observe.