Reader Questions Status of Village Financial Reserves
So, Mr. Mayor——- how are those financial reserves doing with all the extra $$$$ that is being spent on snow removal? Using up all our financial reserves seemed like such a grand idea when you wanted to get that politically motivated ZERO PERCENT tax hike. People warned you that you should hold some money back for unexpected expenses, but NOOOOOOOOO, you wanted to be Mr. Santa Claus. Well, you will have to answer when our poorly planned budget runs out of cash flow.
RECALL
o tax is not the way to go. raise it to 1.5 %
Tax cuts are the way to go – I thought this was a Republican blog. Time to slash wage increases, increase pension & healthcare contributions so they are no longer give aways by taxpayers, and find other revenue sources like payments in lieu of taxes from Valley. The municipal pensioners, on their +$100k pensions and almost free healthcare for life disagree, and blame teachers and “millionaire dollar home owners”, but they are the ones that created this mess and their self interests are aligned with the status quo. Time to clean house.
You will not see 0% or even 1.5% increase for next year. Its going to be more for sure.
People it’s time to learn how to do more with less – just like the rest of the economy has since the recession. The Mayor and his team have failed miserably at providing basic services. Walk around today and witness icy streets and abandoned trash strewn in snow banks that still protrude into intersections. Increasing taxes is not the answer – finding better leadership is.
Totally agree with #4 new leadership is needed this mayor and council are completely inept.
agree with 4 and 5. But who will step up?
It’s all Gabbert’s fault, right Pau?
I’m not sure how linking a property tax increase to snow removal is a good idea ? Will that tax increase be rescinded if we have a mild winter next year ? Permanently raising the property tax base should be for long term cost increases, not to pay for snow removal in one of the snowiest winters in recent memory. For those who’ve read their Village Budget Newsletters over the past five years, they will have noticed that all of the growth in our taxes has gone to pay for higher wages, pensions & healthcare. That’s despite a 10% cut in the Village workforce by our previous Village Manager, agreed to by the the previous Council. That has gutted our ability to respond to an Arctic vortex. Maybe if the previous Council hadn’t agreed to a retroactive 12% wage increase in 2011 for the previous Manager, or maybe if we hadn’t handed out 4% annual wage increases from 2010-2014 to some of our highest paid municipal employees – again, agreed to by the previous Council – then we wouldn’t be in this mess ? Agreed though that we need better leadership – what about shared snow removal services ? If Glenrock, Waldwick, Midland Paqrk and Ho-Ho Kus can do a better job of snow removal, pay them a fee to help us as part of a shared service. That’s where the current Village leadership has let us down. But the wheels of budget cuts for snow removal were put in place in 2010 and 2011.
How about the overpaid employees learn to do more with less.
Pay your own health care.
Pay your own 401K.
Take a pay cut.
Amend your union contracts.
Don’t like the above? Get replaced by contractors. Low bidder gets the job. (its not rocket science to plow snow, fill potholes, push leaves, or pick up garbage).
Why don’t you run for Council Charlie ?
That’s it blame the employes when everything else fails. Wait till our government gets done with ( income equality ) you won’t be laughing in your million plus house you live in. Remember Lincoln freed the slaves. #9 Your like our Mayor probably never did a hard days work in your life.
#9 Must be in the running for Village Manger’s job. Oh did I say running should have said ( The shoe in) Right R.
Mayor and council do not run the town. That is the Village Manager’s job. If you have a problem with village services, you should be addressing the Village Manager and the department heads. Cleaning house with the Village Council won’t fix basic services.
But didn’t the Mayor and his running mates very publicly run the last Village Manager out of town? Since which time we haven’t had a Village Manager at all? Since which time garbage collection, curbside recycling and snow removal (i.e., “basic services”) have all but ceased? I’m sorry, this one is on our Mayor and his running mates.
And yet #13 you and your friends and our new Mayor had no problems blaming the last Mayor’s and Council’s for the wows of Ridgewood. Can’t have it both ways. Nice try.
The buck stops at the top. Paul and his 2 running mates are wholly responsible for the reduction in key services.
Yes #14 we will have a new “On the Job training ” Village Manager soon.
#13. Mayor Aronsohn and Council owns this budget. Don’t blame it on the other guy. They were warned about contingencies but Aronshn went for the 0.
Recall
Ah #8 another Paul Aronsohn apologist when all else fail blame everything on Gabberts raise. That tactic worked during the election but it not working here. The Mayor and cohorts will know how Gabbert felt when the recall petitions start to make the rounds.
To #11 and #12. I am #9.
I have run many businesses in my long career with tens of thousands of employees. Thanks for the compliment, but the Village manager job’s compensation wouldn’t cover my expense account for a month.
Having said that, when a business (or municipality in this case) is overburdened by generous compensations (=pay for you pinheads) and generous benefits (health insurance and retirement), the ONLY way to be able to continue paying these employees their increases is to ‘raise prices’ and ‘raise profit margins’.
In ‘simple speak’ so y’all can comprehend (=understand), that means raising property taxes. The residents are not about to stand for a property tax increase that can be avoided by outsourcing the services that can be accomplished by anyone with a pulse.
I saw in the paper that the Village advertised a position for an equipment operator that was grossly above what a private sector employee would command (what they would GET for pay)
So maybe you simpletons can understand. EVERYONE is replaceable. Your union contract can easily be converted to toilet paper. Do yourself a favor, if you expect job security, make some recommendations for increased productivity (=work harder and do more). Whining and complaining will make your jobs disappear.
In the real world, when wages become uncompetitive, we move manufacturing to states without unions, such as South Carolina and Alabama. The unions lose members, and the lackey politicians in the Northeast lose a taxpayer, which just shifts the burden (=amount of taxes) to other who are unfortunate enough to still live here.
There is a limit to what property owners will pay, and we are there now.
Hey Charlie why don’t you got back to the Patch and post . This way Jim B can kick your ass again. What are you afraid big boy.
#20 You must be one of the Ridgewood elites. You are a legend in your own mind. Reread your post and see how you talk down to people. Speaks volumes of your attitude. You must own a sweat shop bushiness in China.
Well #20 if you are applying for the Village Manager job and based on the information in your post then I would say that you are Over Qualified for the job.
to all if the services go down so will your home, people move into the village because of the services and school. the b o e needs to do a 0 % tax for a few years.
Like him or not, #20 lives in the real world. Look at all of the jobs that union contracts have sent overseas. Look at the municipal bankruptcies that union contracts have brought on. It’s a tough pill to swallow but guaranteed raises and lifetime pensions are a thing of the past. Union negotiated compensation packages for commodity labor are unsustainable. Let the free market determine what we pay to pick up our garbage and plow our streets. Then lower our taxes.
#21 is a “anonymous” creep – stop checking my friends on LinkedIn. Anonymous blogging allows you to say things you don’t say to peoples’ faces – that’s cyber bullying and equivalent to stalking. Please stop. If we’d held municipal wage increases to under 2% instead of the 4.0375% effective annual increases given to your cronies from 2009~2012, asked for 15% pension contributions from our highest paid municipal employees, as well as private sector employer based health insurance premiums instead of the maximum of $400 for full family coverage you gave away, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now. Enjoy your +$100K pension for life, $15 doctor’s visit and $5 drug co-pays, while you anonymously blog about overpaid teachers and million dollar home owners. Your pension & healthcare benefits are worth multiple millions in today’s dollars – and yet you moan & gripe about anyone who calls you out. I’m sorry you hate free speech.
Hey #26 If you don’t want people to check you out. Then get off of Linkedin , what its there for. Or do you want to control that and while your at it stop maligning people in public when you never even met them. Talk about saying thing to people faces.
Let me understand this #20 said “I have run many businesses in my long career with tens of thousands of employees. Thanks for the compliment, but the Village manager job’s compensation wouldn’t cover my expense account for a month.” but they are worried about people making $1000 k pension. WOW.
Your post is confusing. But I’ll interpret it as follows. Just because I have done well, I am supposed to willingly subsidize overly compensated government employees? Not a chance. I’ll allocate my hard earned funds as I see fit. Using your logic, I should pay more in property taxes to reward those who simply ‘have a pulse’. No way jose.
And because government employees retired or current have done welll with negotiated contract they should give it back so you can have lower taxes. You should check out how much of your property taxes go to municipal services. To say that all government workers simply have a pulse is type of stereo typing that shows how truly shallow you are. I wounder what other groups you stereo type.
Contracts can be broken. Ask Detroit how’s things working out for their retired workers. Getting a government job is supposed to be about job security vs the private sector, not a lottery ticket.
Well then break the contract. I don’t see our mayor or current council rushing to do this. Did you ever ask your self why? After all you probable voted for these people. Could they have another agenda? Now moving forward I don’t necessary disagree with some of your point. At least I can see both side. Can you?
In Detroit it was social giveaway that cause the problem. Read up on it and post the whole story why Detroit’s went bell up and after all that their leadership want to build a Hockey Arena. Poor leadership.
you know it’s very sadd that my tax’s go up and my services go down.not right. they need to stop spending money on things that we don’t need.
I don’t think anyone is suggesting rolling back what’s already been negotiated in good faith, or cutting benefits. We’re talking about asking for meaningful concessions in the next round of contracts to limit the GROWTH in wages and benefits to try and reduce the burden on property tax payers – who are already some of the highest taxed people in the entire U.S. Taxes have grown too fast, and for what ? All of the growth is for wages, cost of living adjustments, and benefits – not for Village services, not for new roads, not for capital & infrastructure improvements. We’re clearly seeing the strains of those cost cuts now. And we’re still being taxed to death.
Ok #35 now we are coming closer together.I don’t think any Municipal union members believe that they will not have to give back ,especial police. They know what coming. I due question what our local leadership ( Mayor & council ) will do with the saving. Will they do as you said new roads, capital & infrastructure improvements or will they spend it on pet project to enhance the political futures and pay back the voters who support or will support them. I am a tax payer in town and drive the same roads and receive the same service as you do. I would not want to give back anything if some politician is going to squander the money on thing that make them look good.
Using your logic, I should pay more in property taxes to reward those who simply ‘have a pulse’. No way jose.
Just to let you know their are a lot of Ridgewood workers who have worked hard for the Village donated their time and yes money to worthy cause in this town as other poster on this blog have done. Some still live in Ridgewood after retirement. Not like those who only come here for the schools and then leave. We pay taxes also and whatever affect you does affect us. Fix the problem going forward. At one time resident in Ridgewood considered this a family. What changed.
#35 a lot of the people who post here demanding the public employees do just that, give what was negotiated for in good faith. Many employees took less pay to get better benefits over the years now, that health care cost’s have been allowed to get out of control the towns are feeling the pressure of the cost increases, people in the private sector say go after the employees instead of regulating health care cost increases to public employees just as a public utility. The utilities have to go before a board so should the health care corporations when they want to raise rates on publicly funded contracts. The state legislature has modified arbitration, pension, and terminal leave regulations, and all employees are paying a higher % of their salaries into their respective pension funds. There are several posters who have posted mis information in the past and this creates an atmosphere of mis-trust, and acrimony, the point is the public employees are not the enemy, pin-heads, with a pulse, or any other typically negative adjective they are men and women trying to make a living in very trying times.
Some of these comments appear to have Charlie Kime’s finger prints all over them. Interestingly, Charlie’s focus is only on Police and Fire employees. Is there a reason he has chosen to focus on them, you bet there is, they are easy targets. But ask him about the largest portion of his tax bill (the BOE at over 66% of his tax bill) and all of a sudden he doesn’t have a problem with that. Charlie is overly jealous of the pay, benefits and retirement package for police and Firefighters. You have to ask yourself, why is a guy who makes well over $250,000.00 a year, who can also receive an annual bonus that would surpass the annual salary of a veteran police or firefighters yearly salary, be so worried about what police and Firefighters earn. Of course it’s hard to say for sure, but I suspect he has some personal reason he hates police and firefighters.
Way to go anonymous #39, make it personal – that’s a page straight out of the union playbook. Deflect, undermine and steal food from the table of property tax payers. Having wages in line with average household incomes in Ridgewood and pension & healthcare benefits for life worth multi-millions isn’t enough for you. What would you say if Obama hired his daughter to work for him ? Who are you ? You should apologize to Mr. Kime. Your behavior lacks decorum, and there’s frankly no room for that. Your bullying tactics are not welcome.
What’s hiring Obama daughter have to do with anything?
My bullying tactics are not welcome? Your unwarranted and biased bullying attack on government employees deserved a reply and you got that reply. Now your mad? If Charlie didn’t twist facts and make inaccurate statements, which he has done here using that name, there would be room for discussion. But his all out scorched earth attack on unions and government employees has harvested what he has sown. No apology.
Cronies hiring their kids to public sector union jobs with almost free pensions & healthcare for life is called nepotism. The private sector frowns upon this.
Yes in the private sector it called networking. Who you kidding.
Some poster from the private sector on this blog would want you to believe that when their kids are looking for a job they would not make any calls to their friend to find them a job. It human nature to help family.
Geography plays a sizable role in property taxes. Because New England is predominantly developed and there’s only a finite amount of land available, property values and property taxes are generally high in the region. Infrastructure needs also come into play, with higher population density areas needing far more revenue generation to maintain roads and bridges.
This is primarily why you see higher property taxes in almost every New England state
But, we also have to factor in property value. By that I mean you can purchase an identical house in one locale that could set you back $1 million that, in a different state or county, may sell for one-quarter of that amount or less. Everything depends on location, infrastructure, the availability of land, population density, and demand.
Like it or not Ridgewood is a high demand town with an ageing infrastructure and no more land for development, which many communities develop to keep up with increasing budgets.
Finally someone who makes sense. Thanks #46
That guy doesn’t even live in the U.S. Get your facts straight before you try to discredit others.
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Anonymous:
My bullying tactics are not welcome? Your unwarranted and biased bullying attack on government employees deserved a reply and you got that reply. Now your mad? No apology.
This is the definition itself of “Defamation.” Any intentional false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person’s reputation; decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person. Defamation may be a criminal or civil charge. It encompasses both written statements, known as libel, and spoken statements, called slander. How do we file civiil or criminal charges against this poster ?