Tag: village manager

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Reader says All the rhetoric about wanting to hire the best available employee is B.S.

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Village Clerk, when acting VM, violated ordinance and was called out on it by resident. Same resident had applied for a Village position. Resident denied position in violation of residency requirement ordinance by same Village Clerk while Acting Manager. New Vm (R.S.) learns of violation in May, 2014 and decides to amend ordinance to support her Village Clerk. Councilwoman Knudsen got to close to discovering the truth and the V.M. and 3 amigos decided to sic their attack dog(labor attorney) on her. All the rhetoric about wanting to hire the best available employee is B.S.

That’s either a crass indictment, or a rare glimpse of truth and municipal reality that the public was not supposed to be afforded. One can’t necessarily decide between the two possibilities without more information or an alternative source, but you may be assured that at least one inquiring mind wants to know which is real, and which IS an illusion!

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Readers Not Happy With Village Managers Performance at Council Meeting

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file photo by Boyd Loving

Message to Ms. Sonenefeld: The hiring and firing of Village employees is certainly within your purview, but that in and of itself is no excuse whatsoever for not keeping the ENTIRE Village Council informed of your plans with respect to holding positions open in expectation of an ordinance change. Personally, I’d like to see the complete list of job applicants for those open positions, now on hold, to find out exactly who it is from Ridgewood that you don’t want to hire.

Ms. Roberta:

1. You are not an elected official. You should not insert your opinions and commentary incessantly. We are not interested in your opinions. What are you, the fourth AMIGO? Your gratuitous swipe at Ms. Knudsen last night was completely uncalled for. Councilwoman Knudsen conducted a calm and fact-filled discussion. At the end of it, you had the audacity to state that you had prepared a joke but now you didn’t feel like it. That was insulting and unprofessional. You were clearly stating that you did not like Councilwoman Knudsen’s discussion. That is just tough luck for you. You are not, I repeat YOU ARE NOT an elected official. Your opinions are not germane to any discussion. Keep them to yourself and just try to do your job.

2. You need to stop interrupting when one of our elected officials is speaking. Watching the tape, it is so distracting when you keep interjecting. Stop it. We did not elect you to represent us and we do want to hear what our elected officals have to say.

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Mayor and Village Manager hold Meet Ups for Residents

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Mayor and Village Manager hold Meet Ups for Residents

MAYOR’S OFFICE HOURS FOR RESIDENTS -Saturday, December 6th from 9 AM to Noon

Mayor Paul Aronsohn holds office hours for Ridgewood residents the first Saturday of every month. Mayor Aronsohn will meet with residents on Saturday, December 6th from 9AM to Noon in the Council Chambers (Sydney V. Stoldt, Jr. Court Room) on the fourth floor of Ridgewood Village Hall.

For an appointment to meet with the Mayor, please call the Village Clerk’s Office at 201-670-5500 ext. 206. You may come to the Mayor’s office hours without an appointment, but those with appointments will be given priority.

Meet the Manager – Monday, December 15th 5:30 to 7:30pm

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Monday, December 15th between the hours of 5:30pm to 7:30pm. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis.

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No “Golden Toilets ” for Habernickel

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No “Golden Toilets ” for Habernickel

Habernickel horse barn renovation scrapped for now – prefab building maybe
October 22,2014
Boyd A. Loving
12:45 AM 

Ridgewood NJ, Based on the recommendation of Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, Village Council members have seemingly nixed plans to undertake an expensive renovation of the Irene Habernickel Family Park’s horse barn.  The renovation project was being considered to satisfy a need for permanent restrooms and shelter from inclement weather at the expansive park located on Hillcrest Road.

Sonenfeld suggested that a prefabricated restroom may be a less expensive alternative, with preliminary estimates in the $60K – $90K price range.  A $60K grant may help offset costs.

Many of you may remember that the restroom project at Vets Field wound up costing taxpayers almost $400K, and those commodes were constructed in an existing building.

Pay close attention to this one folks . . .

Esurance

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Ridgewood’s manager settling into new role

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file photo Boyd Loving

Ridgewood’s manager settling into new role

AUGUST 18, 2014    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2014, 1:25 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

In her first four months as Ridgewood’s new village manager, resident Roberta Sonenfeld has struck a different tone in local government, with the help of her private sector background and eager-to-learn, hands-on approach to the job.

Sonenfeld has already had one-on-one meetings with more than 60 village employees from several departments, including health, fire, police and finance, with plans to meet with all roughly 270 individuals who work in village government.

“I think the morale is improving. I think that she took the time to meet with everyone and find out what’s needed, what’s happening,” said Supervisor of Health Dawn Cetrulo, who has already had her one-on-one with Sonenfeld. “I think she’s listening. She’s talking to each of us and making a lot of changes, a lot of positive change.”

“We (recently) had a staff meeting,” added Cetrulo, “and you could just tell that the feeling in the room was positive. It was a nice experience.”

The public has experienced a difference, too: Sonenfeld brought brownies to this Wednesday’s council meeting.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-s-manager-settling-into-new-role-1.1069246#sthash.yTMmsaxP.dpuf

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Tuesday, July 29th 5 to 8pm – Meet the Village Manager

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file photo Boyd Loving

Tuesday, July 29th 5 to 8pm – Meet the Manager

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will hold office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Tuesday, July 29th between the hours of 5 to 8pm. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis.

Esurance

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Meet the Village Manager – Saturday, May 31 – 9am to Noon

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Meet the Village Manager – Saturday, May 31 – 9am to Noon

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will begin office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Saturday, May 31st between the hours of 9 and noon. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis

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Readers say Honeymoon over for the New Village manager

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Readers say Honeymoon Over for the New Village manager 

I knew someone would get around to blaming Gabbert. Its not the council fault when something goes wrong. They only take the credit when something goes right and that is far and few.

This is the same Roberta Sonenfeld who was getting such praise when she was appointed.Looks like the “partisan hack” criticism was all true .

So what your saying is that are new hand pick Village Manager didn’t notify the Council because the past Village Manager had an arranged it that way. Really. A Village Manage with any background on that intersection should have brought it to the Council especially when they live on the West Side and should be familiar with that route. This is not on the job training. Next you are going to tell us that our mayor is going to use a page from our president book. “I only found out about this when he watched the news.” Please

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Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will begin office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Saturday, May 31st

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Meet the Manager – Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will begin office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Saturday, May 31st between the hours of 9 and noon

Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld will begin office hours for Ridgewood residents and business owners on Saturday, May 31st between the hours of 9 and noon. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and provide input to Roberta. These sessions will be scheduled at 15 minute intervals and will be held in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of Ridgewood Village Hall. Please contact Beth Spinato at 201-670-5500, ext. 203 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are welcome but should realize that the schedule may already be booked. We will announce the schedule for these meetings on a monthly basis

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Reader says Village Budget Time to Live within our means

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Reader says Village Budget Time to Live within our means

While there has historically been a strong link between rising property prices and local property taxes, the link has broken down badly when property prices decline. Assessed property values in Ridgewood have declined from $802K in 2008 to $687K in 2013, or -3% per year, and yet the municipal budget grew +3.55% on average between 2008~2012 (2013 was 0%).

There are lots of reasons why our property taxes have grown despite declining assessed values (contractual promises, state mandates, cuts in state & federal aid, parking meter theft, etc), but shouldn’t we align our expenses with our revenues ? That’s what every responsible household does, why don’t we expect the same of our public officials ?

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Ridgewood village manager gets a head start on new job

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Ridgewood village manager gets a head start on new job

APRIL 2, 2014, 11:50 AM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014, 11:50 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — Her official first day was Monday, but Roberta Sonenfeld got a head start as Ridgewood’s new village manager three weeks ago.

Sonenfeld, a 17-year village resident and the first woman to hold the village’s top administrative office, said on Tuesday she “wanted to hit the ground running.” So, following her appointment in mid-March, she started meeting one-on-one with several of the village’s various directors.

“We discussed anything that they wanted to talk about,” Sonenfeld said, including any “outstanding issues or concerns” they had.

“I also attended all of the departmental budget reviews, and met with our attorney for an update on all important legal issues,” said Sonenfeld, 59, who has three decades of prior experience as upper management for several different financial institutions.

Sonenfeld has already met with Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and Bergen County Administrator Ed Trawinski, and “agreed that the answer to stemming the tide of higher and higher property taxes is for each municipality to do things differently than we are doing them today and to engage the county where it makes sense,” the new manager said.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-village-manager-gets-a-head-start-on-new-job-1.839744#sthash.RH0zdbl6.dpuf

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New Ridgewood manager to oversee Parking Utility to prevent future thefts

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New Ridgewood manager to oversee Parking Utility to prevent future thefts

APRIL 2, 2014, 9:39 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014, 9:39 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — The new village manager said she would temporarily oversee the Parking Utility to protect future thefts of money after an employee stole nearly half-million dollars in coins over two years.

Roberta Sonenfeld also called for “independent reviews of each of the areas where we accept cash and checks to insure proper controls are in place.”

The move comes after Thomas Rica admitted last month sneaking handfuls of quarters out of the parking meter coin storage room. Rica, who was working as the village’s public works inspector, did not have authorization to be in the room, but carried a master key because of his job duties. He was later fired and struck a plea deal last month with prosecutors that will see him repay the entire amount — $460,000 — in monthly increments of at least $2,000.

Rica will be sentenced in June to five year’s probation, under the terms of the deal; he will avoid serving any prison time.

Sonenfeld, who started as village manager earlier this week, told the village council at its meeting Wednesday night a forensic review of Ridgewood’s financials should occur soon.

An independent review, analyzing the way the village manages its parking meter revenues, will also be undertaken, she added.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-ridgewood-manager-to-oversee-parking-utility-to-prevent-future-thefts-1.840084#sthash.pfY3khAv.dpuf

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Ridgewood Council, in 3-2 vote, makes manager’s appointment official

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Ridgewood Council, in 3-2 vote, makes manager’s appointment official

MARCH 13, 2014, 1:16 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Ridgewood has a new village manager.

In a 3-2 vote Wednesday night, the Ridgewood Council approved the appointment of 17-year resident Roberta Sonenfeld to the village’s top administration position, a seat that has been vacant since late last August.

Sonenfeld will start her new job March 31, at which time she will begin receiving an annual salary of $155,000. She has already informed the village that she intends to waive any health benefits and stipends for travel expenses.

“This is my dream job,” Sonenfeld said after a line of about 10 residents spoke in support of her and her appointment.

With many family members in attendance, Sonenfeld, 59, said the combination of three decades in senior management roles and her desire to improve her hometown “brought me to this place.”

“I’m passionate about this town,” she said.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-council-in-3-2-vote-makes-manager-s-appointment-official-1.740095#sthash.GVGfZbJ3.dpuf

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Reader says , either she is a political hack, or she isn’t. Nothing I can say will cause her to change her stripes.

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Roberta Sonenfeld , Village Manager

Reader says , either she is a political hack, or she isn’t. Nothing I can say will cause her to change her stripes.

From what I’ve seen of Ms. Sonenfeld’s background, she may have a left-of-center political perspective, which I regret, but she’s solid in other areas. I might say that people should be more moderate, or at least more thoughtful, in their statements, though, particularly if they are in a position to be asked to take a non-partisan position that obliges them to serve people of all kinds, faithfully and without bias or prejudice. But in the heat of a political campaign, things get said, both in letters-to-the-editor (Sonenfeld) AND in response to a reporter’s question (Lonegan) that could be phrased better and that don’t necessarily prove that the person has a ‘dark heart.’

She looks like nobody’s fool. I like the fact that she lives in Ridgewood. The last VM had split municipal loyalties (which caused problems during the aftermath of a big storm), and a regional political reputation to cultivate that had nothing to do with Ridgewood. I say this even though I might have had more in common with the earlier VM politically.

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Roberta Sonenfeld – In her own words

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Roberta Sonenfeld – In her own words

Ridgewood Village Voices: Roberta Sonenfeld

Friday, May 24, 2013
The Ridgewood News

Occupation and volunteer positions: I have my own management consulting business; vice president of the Ridgewood Education Foundation; secretary of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County; Ridgewood Historical Society board member.

MARION BROWN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Buy or license this photo
Roberta Sonenfeld, a village resident for 16 years, adjusts the vintage wedding dress on exhibit at the Schoolhouse Museum.

Age: 58.

How long I have lived in Ridgewood: 16 years.

Interests and hobbies: Broadway theater, traveling, cooking.

My favorite place to relax in Ridgewood: During spring, summer and fall, hanging in our backyard with friends.

A “perfect day” in Ridgewood would include: Starbucks in the morning followed by a library visit or shopping and topped off by dinner at either Mediterraneo, La Lanterna or Café 37.

The best-kept secret in the village: The Schoolhouse Museum – come visit and see our current exhibit – “The Collection.”

The best thing about Ridgewood: The educational system and the support it has in the community, including the significant contributions that the trustees at the Ridgewood Education Foundation make.

One thing I would like to change in the village: The level of discourse on seemingly divisive issues, e.g. Valley Hospital and Central Business District development.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community/208769971_Ridgewood_Village_Voices__Roberta_Sonenfeld.html?page=all#sthash.MBerzD5S.dpuf