>During last night’s Village Council Work Session, Village CFO Dorothy Stikna revealed that it will take a miracle of sorts to balance next year’s municipal budget. If the current spending rate holds, Stikna said a 7.6% increase in the municipal tax rate would be required to keep our heads above water, mainly due to anticipated charges associated with police/fire pension payments, and an inability to sell the Village held liquor license for $600K. However, a State of NJ imposed 4.0% budget cap is in place, so movement must take place on one end or the other. The problem now faced by Village Council members is: “what expenses must be cut, and/or what revenue generating opportunities could be quickly implemented?”
On the heels of Stikna’s unsettling revelation, Council members flatly rejected a series of cost savings proposals offered by Director of Operations Frank J. Moritz. Mr. Moritz claimed that a switch to twice weekly curbside rubbish pickup, or reducing the number of rear yard pickups to 1 per week instead of 2, could save $265K per year. In addition, Moritz said another $100K per year would be saved if yard waste pickups were completely eliminated. Councilman Patrick A. Mancuso summed up the Council’s opinion about making any cuts in services Ridgewood residents have come to expect by telling Moritz: “No way Jose!” Deputy Mayor Betty G. Wiest also commented, saying that a serious traffic hazard would be created if residents were forced to drive their yard waste to a central collection station.
Although Council members certainly had no appetite for cost cutting last night, they did quickly devour a revenue generating opportunity served up by Ms. Stikna. Beginning within the next several months, the 180-200 highest usage commercial customers of Ridgewood Water, based within Ridgewood, will be slapped with a new “sewer usage fee.” This is expected to generate approximately $120K in new municipal revenue during 2008.
Councilman Jacques Harlow nicely summed up discussion related to the 2008 budget by saying that “$1 million needs to be cut from this budget and we really haven’t gotten serious about doing it yet.” In response, Village Manager James M. Ten Hoeve assured Council members that there would additional focus on larger cost cutting and revenue generation projects scheduled to take place during upcoming Village Council Work Sessions.
>Let me get this straight. There is a one million dollar shortfall but the vor and boe want to spend 27.5 million dollars on field improvement. They must be using TERC math!
>and Valley pays no taxes. What is the garage going to cost (land acquisition, construction, O&M)?
>shortfall my tail stop buying all this uneccasary property. the work force is cut to the bare min. now. watch the leave collection and snow removal show this year.
>It really is very simple: take $500,000 out of the School Budget; the council has the power to do so when budget is on ballot; take the other $500,000 from the public library, which is now our fourth largest budget item. I hate to agree with Council, but I think we pay for services, and we should have luxury of having garbage picked up twice a week, and not bring stuff to center. Its really time to get tough with extra spending by “sacrocant” groups. Take a good hard look, both these areas can afford to lose some fat.
>A big money maker would be to charge all users of our fields a “user fee”. Sell Habernickle top a developer allowing one acre lots to put the land back on the tax record.
>take the full amount from the school budget and continue to do so until the BOE stops WASTING money on copying machines, paper, and substandard materials and training for our top teachers from NEWARK
>4:21 – I agree and I use both the library and the school system. We need to look at ways to cut spending, not services.
>OUr teachers going to Newark for training. Let’s go to the moon to get more oxygen!!!!
>We just moved and now the Village is having all these money problems.
I’m glad we MOVED OUT.
>And why can’t people put their garbage out at the curb like the rest of the area? Probably could save money in that department. Twice a week would be easy on the garbage guys if it was already at the curb and they didn’t have to go into everyone’s back yards.
>I put my garbage at the curb when I lived in Frankin Lakes, it was no big deal. If it can save us tax dollars why not?
HOWEVER,that does not mean we should stop looking for other cost savings while still keeping a reasonable level of service.
I am sure a lot of cost cutting could be done in the School budget.
>Maybe we can sell the BOE another imaginary educational program then slip the money into the Village budget. It seems the Board will buy any passing fancy to look progressive.
>putting garbage at the curb wont save ANYTHING. its stupid and makes the town look like a DUMP. Do you expect these UNION employees to take a significant pay cut if you make this town look like crap?? (maybe the sanitation workers union merged with our teachers union here)If you want to do some intelligent cost-cutting, look at the school budget and get rid of the FAT, and negotiate a contract where the teachers pay for their own health benefits.Better yet..put the garbage pick up out to BID…now that the wiseguys no longer control the solid waste business in NJ, there will be lots of COMPETITIVE bids for REAR-YARD pickup. Costs a lot less than union employees, TRUCKS,etc. For you NEWBIES in town, RIdgewood bought trucks after the private carter went on strike in 1969 and no other company would step in and make the pickups.
>I agree puting the garbage on the curb wont save anything it will just be less work for the garbage men …
>If you want to make worthwhile intelligent spending cuts to lower a tax bill, you look at what comprises the majority of the bill. Your “average 11,0000″tax bill(this was like 4 years ago but the percentages are accurate) is divided as follows: municipality,($2500) county,($1000) schools.($7500). In Ridgewood we get a BARGAIN for the municipal portion of the bill (streets, snow plowing, leaf removal,household waste/recycling,Police, Fire, Ambulance, Tree dept, etc. Absolute hands-down BARGAIN. I have not familiarized myself with the county other than courthouse, deeds,a few roads. Prob a tad pricey for what we get, but still a small percentage compared to the MONSTER school tab we face. Since the SCHOOLS present the HUGE proportion of our tax bills, that is the LOGICAL place to ‘cut out the fat’. Unfortunately, our politicans dont have the stomach to act. Belt-tightening in the municipal portion of the tax bill expenditures makes good ‘press’ in the paper, but it insignificant. One must take the school monster to task. If the largest growth item in the budget is health insurance for teachers, then do something. Require the teachers to CONTRIBUTE to their healthcare, just as those of us taxpayers have to do at our jobs. Better yet, require them to use the HMO (instead of the preferred payer), that alone cuts the bill by 50%. Most of the good physicians participate and most of the residents who FOOT THE BILL for this EXCESS are served quite well by an HMO. In closing, the school budget is the tax eating monster here, not garbage pick up!
>if it goes on the curb well that will be the start of the layoffs.i told you all it was in the talks.how come your frind the fly did not tell you.hummmmmmmmmmmm.this is all bs.and al this at the end of the year.how come now.well it is all a set up story for more to come.well i think it is time to lay off in town hall.way to many jobs in townhall.
>well may be we need to put a cap on the police dept.I like the cops but it is killing the tax money.and yes the b.o.e.
>the school budget is the monster that eats up the taxes. that must be addressed. the other budgets are chicken#@(#_ compared to the schools. PERIOD.
>Maybe if all the schools were not run like little fiefdoms, we could get some efficiencies out of them that could result in savings. Just wishful thinking.
>12:46
You’re right. They call it SITE BASED MANAGEMENT.
With some of the principles not caring to manage the budget portion of the job.
There is no accountability at each SITE. SPEND SPEND SPEND.
In the grade schools is all for show. Visual effects that impress the parents when they visit.
How about all the money they just wasted CLEANING all the schools over the weekend.
Do you really believe that the custodial staff cleaned ALL the surfaces with whatever they used.
They probably just mopped the floors and wiped the desks.
WHAT A WASTE. But now the parents are happy because the kids won’t get the dreaded Staph infection ___ THIS WEEK!
>look the bottom line is that we need all the workers on bord.we cant aford to not to have them.it is cheeper for them.but some think so dum.
>well stop spending money on fake paying grounds.some would love to have the hole town done.and its not so the grounds look good in a snow storm.it is so they can lay off workers.dont be fooled my little frinds.
>short fall my ass.dont tell me such bull s,.t.iam sick off this hole story.whare did al the money go.
>Start taxing Valley hospital! They constantly use the police and fire departments, yet don’t have to pay for them.
Audrey Meyers: what a free-loader!