file photo by Boyd Loving
Ridgewood is a service orientated community mainly for young families whom reap those benefits more than the empty nesters and matured singles.
The scale is tipped in favor towards young families who buy in for the school system, expect and want more. It is orientated to sports groups, leisure activity programs, young mixers, February recess, Spring recess, etc. They move out after the youngest graduates. The matured residents are basically left in the dust except to pay ever increasing school and property taxes.
There is more use of town services by young families vs. empty nesters as far as double the number of garbage cans of waste, recycleables, and water usage with washers running daily by the young families, the library. The matured residents usage is much less.
For decades, the matured residents were able to age in place in their life long homes since the taxes held fairly steady, with gradual increases over time. But, the housing boom of the 21st C. changed all that, and taxes spiraled out of control. Matured residents thought they would be able to continue to stay living comfortably and safely right in the neighborhood they always loved and not have to “downsize”. For many now its a question of should they sell and move together now, before one dies and then only one is left to make that decision later. These things and more, is not a balanced community.
Today’s matured residents were yesterday’s school budget voters.
I imagine today’s residents with “Support Ridgewood Teachers’ and “Yes to Full Day Kindergarten” signs in their yards will be tommorow’s matured residents.
Plenty of retirees in town not complaining.
Well they should be complaining – average property taxes have doubled in the past fifteen years, and for what? A$102mn school budget. Cops and fire fighters retiring on $100k pensions for life in their early 50s will full family platinum health coverage. Why aren’t these retirees complaining? Probably because they’re public pensioners and the gravy train has been very good to them.
I live on the West Side, and only occasionally use roads on the East Side, so I should be exempt from paying for those roads and their maintenance. I have never had to call or use the police or fire department, so count me out of those too. I never go to the CBD at night, so I shouldn’t have to subsidize the electricity used in the street lights. And I have little kids who aren’t in public schools yet, so no way am I paying for the schools/teachers. This line of reasoning makes a lot of sense.
11:15. You sound like a lot of fun.
Ridgewood provides the perfect recipe of demographics for all the excessive spending, nepotism, well-intentioned (but unsustainable) projects, and varying degrees of opportunistic action. These perfect conditions are:
1. A relatively wealthy community.
2. A community that rotates (many move here just to put their kids through school and then move on).
3. A largely Democrat population. This isn’t meant as a liberal bash, but just that liberals are far more likely to naively support program after program. The political thieves know this.
4. Ridgewood’s population is mostly un-focused on local matters due to careers and social lives.
Sad but so true 3:35. Taxpayers always pay and the greedy unions and their stooges in govt know this. See the BOE negotiations last year. The teachers union just expected taxpayers to agree to all of their outrageous demands. And we pretty much did because the teachers were withholding college recommendations. Until voters and taxpayers care, property taxes will just keep growing at twice the rate of inflation like they have for the past 20 years.
I love Ridgewood. Near the city and airports. Also the Jersey Shore , mountains and so much more. I am a senior citizen and worry if I can stay forever but then nothing is forever. I am thankful for now . Sounds awfully pollyannaish which I am not. Friends and family make up for the high taxes.
You actually Kow-Towed to the teachers union because they were withholding a college recommendation?
Are you that utterly pathetic that this was your reasoning?
Maybe you “pretty much did” but i most certainty did not…good god.
Senior citizen here, been in town since the 1970’s. Love it, don’t mind the taxes, make use of many of the services. Never had a fire but am more than happy to pay for the FD because I certainly want them if I ever need them. Voted YES for all day kindergarten even though my kids are long gone. This town is not for young families exclusively. I am a happy retiree here.
We are a wealthy community yet many complain about the teachers. They do not make the same money as most residents. After 20 years experience and an advanced degree their salaries are not high.
They are responsible for improving test scores for all students, not just the “average” ones. ,it is not easy and most of us probably would not be good at it.
I think that people are jealous and if they had it to do over they would have gone into teaching. Being a wealth adviser or financial planner is not all that it is cracked up to be. Glorified sales reps. That and real estate sales seem to be the main occupations in this town.
typical arrogant (yet whining) teacher…
11:15 HAD to be trolling.
And 6:19 is clearly a retired fire fighter spinning the “you can save on your home owners’ insurance” lie that ignores the added property taxes to pay for the excessive luxury of a professional fire dept, which few towns of 26,000 people can afford
“at 8:18 am”
“Today’s matured residents were yesterday’s school budget voters.
I imagine today’s residents with “Support Ridgewood Teachers’ and “Yes to Full
Day Kindergarten” signs in their yards will be tommorow’s matured residents.”
… Matured resident here, not complaining, just facts. Always voted NO on the school budget, we have the same number kids/schools enrolled in the school system now as we did back then, 1970’s. Voted no on the $1 Million Budget in the 1980’s, ..fast forward, voted no on the $100 Million Budget. There’s no end. Imagine when those downtown apartments get built, how many more school age kids will add to all the systems.
… the support Ridgewood teachers crowd, won’t become the tommorow’s matured residents in Ridgewood – they’ll be long gone once their kids are done with RHS. I know several who’ve done that and many who say this now and in neighboring towns – Glen Rock.
… know many longtime retired residents now that don’t even bother to vote the BOE budgets anymore, say why bother, they get passed anyway. It only benefits the ones who were strongly encouraged to vote for it, with kids in the system. Other towns experiencing the same.
… ask any realtor how many homes in pre-forclosure, auction, foreclosure in Ridgewood, Paramus, Saddle River, in Bergen County. A large number shown on zillow listings, $1m,$2m, $3mill.houses I know a number of seniors who have big reverse mortgages to remain in their homes, even in million dollar Saddle River homes. That revolving door may get stuck when comes time to sell – who will be able to afford to buy into high taxes?