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Truly Amazing to see any official defend this type of budget. If my company performance mirrored that of our schools with the never ending costs I would be fired in a moment. Ridgewood you win.
Reluctantly After 20 years in Ridgewood, we have changed our plans and will be joining others who are leaving. Our children are gone and although we planned to stay and the village should also want us to stay as we have no longer have kids in the system, we have lost the fight. Our property taxes are almost $50,000. The taxes have gone up almost 8x in 20 years while my home value has been stagnant or reduced. The schools do not excel despite the spin, I can’t water my lawn, can’t park at the station to get to work, can’t get through town with all the traffic, very hard to live here now. The mayor is able to get her family village jobs, sell us her property for millions, Spend money on a old house and then fight to protect it, guess the list goes on.
Funny thing. We have a house in another part of NJ with a higher value, half the taxes, higher ranked schools, and much easier commute to NYC.
Good luck Ridgewood. Will miss it.
I am with you. Soon to be leaving town.
First thing I look at in a new home is the taxes. Instead of a couple with no kids in school the town will get another family with three kids in the school system.
The high taxes cost both of us. The town will have new kids to educate in overcrowded schools with 24/7 sports and not enough fields. You need to build parking in the downtown and more amenities will be demanded the newbies who want more luxury services. And taxes will go up even more. Circle of life
This sums it up for quite a lot of us. Have we ever gotten a tax break?
Between the overblown school budget, the $100K cops (some related to the Mayor), fighting Valley Hospital, unneeded garages and large apartment projects, we’re all sick of it.
The cillage has been having meetings about the needs of residents who want to age in place.
here is my message to the group. THE TOWN IS DRIVING US AWAY. I DO NOT WANT MONTHLY SOCIAL LUNCHES IN VILLAGE HALL AND VALENTINES DANCES. I WANT LUNCH WITH FRIENDS IN THE HOME THAT I HAVE LIVED IN FOR OVER 30 YEARS
Message to all of the Retirees. Spending today means higher taxes tomorrow. When you had kids in the school system did you ever object to the spending, or would you have one of those “We Support Ridgewood Teacher” signs on your front lawn. You reap what you sow..
The repeated argument against property tax relief for seniors to encourage us to stay is the horrors of a budget shortfall. I call it short sighted. And I second the motion about shunning Gwennie’s free lunch to get votes. Ugh.
To the Ridgewood Taxpayer : When the retirees were paying for what at one time was an excellent school system, it made sense. And no offense, but you did not have the number of renters you have now who have turned using the high school for 4 years, and then leaving, into an art form. Nothing more than common sense to leave.
Garage issue (Build it whether they want to pay or not ) is a huge Red flag to those who’s deeper retirement era pockets the spenders in charge thought they had locked.I look at the shabby road surfaces throughout the village..
That’s the distant road calling us folks to smoother and less costly pastures leading away from Ridgewood.
A town that can’t maintain its main roads is a broken town,meantime police guard every Gas pipe MINOR STREET excavation and we pay their massive benefits outside of PSEG per diem which increases our PSEG rates longer term.Hello is anyone home….?
They’re not home, they left.
@11.05. Bingo. Exactly my thoughts. You articulated what I have been thinking and saying for a long time. A town that can’t maintain its main roads is a broken town. This sadly seals it. But in part this is residents fault as well. Instead of focusing on quality of life issues such as the maintenance of our streets etc. people get overwhelmed with flag flying and other bs.
I agree about what one gets for one’s taxes now versus then. Mortgage and taxes were never low but they did not take giant bites out of one’s life and the schools were terrific. They actually stink now. I don’t like paying so much for so little. I believe we have not begun to see what will happen to our property taxes when the apartments are built. During construction the CBD will be unbearable, so there go the businesses and restaurants (and garage). The water dept. has already found that the pipe system can’t handle it and plans to bill residents for the pleasure of expanding it for hundreds of residents who should not be moving here because there isn’t room. All the water to be used by all those buildings and renters and lawns is going to take another bite out of our limited water supply. Will we be allowed ONE day a week to water? And will everybody water throughout all the limited hours permitted? Will water start costing more and more? On a personal note, the prospect of losing all the plantings that I could finally afford to have done and make it look nice is unbearable. If I liked cacti I would live in the Southwest.
RW Taxpayer. You miss the point. First I have never voted yes to the budget or teacher contracts. As a businessman and someone who manages a household budget we found ways to reduce spending to meet needs. When my kids were I school we helped /donated to whatever programs they were in.
Instead of claiming what a great budget we have would have liked to see constant financial and cost management. Now we have out of control costs 105m for schools that are getting worse. 145k a year police with countless other on extended costly pensions, infrastructure that is failing to the point that we can’t provide water, parking, roads, etc. government nepotism, etc.
It is really sad. Think about what the budgets will look like 10 years from now without controls. Hard to stay
It is time to look for savings in the police and fire departments.
It we could combine forces with other towns we would be so much better off.