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Ridgewood leaf removal improved this year

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Ridgewood leaf removal improved this year

JANUARY 2, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Leaf removal was better this year

To the Editor:

The leaf removal was very successful this year, thanks to our new village manager.

The only problem is the fact that some residents still placed leaves on the street after the final removal. The removal dates published for each area should have mentioned that the actual removal could be done as early as the first day mentioned. Or simply it may be better not to indicate several days, but only the first day for each area, as was done in prior years.

https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-ridgewood-leaf-removal-improved-this-year-1.1184943

36 thoughts on “Ridgewood leaf removal improved this year

  1. It should be for 60 K plus given to Downs Tree Service.

  2. I wonder how much they would charge to pick up the XMAS TREES ?

  3. Stop complaining a good job was done. How about a summons for those who put there leaves out after the last pickup? N0 excuse.


  4. Anonymous:

    It should be for 60 K plus given to Downs Tree Service.

    But no pensions, healthcare or accumulated leave benefits for life from the Village and a job well done by the contractor. That’s win win for property tax payers and the Village. It’s called outsourcing to the private sector and sharing services. We should be doing A LOT more of this in a community of 25,000.

  5. I just pointing out that a good job was done because a contractor was hired for 60 k. No one was complaining . The leaf pick should be better for 60 K. 3# & #4 you people are over the top in reading thing into a post.


  6. Anonymous:

    I just pointing out that a good job was done because a contractor was hired for 60 k. you people are over the top in reading thing into a post.

    I disagree that its over the top. Sure $60K looks expensive up front, but when you look at the long run cost to the Village by outsourcing to a private contractor, you’re saving that and more in wages, pensions & benefits you’d be paying for municipal union labor. They’ve had a too much negotiating power for too long. It’s time to outsource and share more services. If the unions are complaining about it, then its a good thing for property tax payers.

  7. Hey #6 I post that and not arguing with youI I agree. What do you have a chip on your shoulder. WOW. Again “you people are over the top in reading thing into a post.” Reading thing into a post is the key phrase .

  8. Do they offer a Anger Management Class where you work. You should look into attending.

  9. #7 You are trying to reason with someone that hates unions at all cost. They just post that stuff at any time the can get it in.

  10. Agreed, the crew did a great job….

  11. “Do they offer a Anger Management Class where you work. You should look into attending.” There is even a special class for non union people it includes a jealousy and envy components #6

  12. They are already picking up Xmas trees from the curb in Glen Rock. Have we started the process in Rigewood yet?

  13. I’m no fan of the Village, but the biggest problem with the leaf-collection process always seems to lie with the actual residents. A large portion of them seem to have some kind of vague idea that if you just leave your leaves/trees in the road at any time during the winter, they will magically disappear. These people pay absolutely no attention to online information about pick-up dates, and the Village is left with no alternative but to put on extra pick-up dates. Yes, they could be ticketed, but that’s really not practical, given that so many do it.


  14. Anonymous:

    #7 You are trying to reason with someone that hates unions at all cost. They just post that stuff at any time the can get it in.

    You like unions #7 ? Then go live in Hudson County with the rest of your goonies, we don’t want you in Ridgewood. This is a non-union, right to work town.

  15. Who died and left you King#14. Why don’t you go back Bronx. Oh thats right your kids have suck the school system dry yet.

  16. Hows that anger management working for you? It looks like you need a couple of more classes.

  17. I guess the union hater is an R well here is one for you.
    “Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.” ~Ronald Reagan

  18. “History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.”

    Martin Luther King Jr.

  19. well in sec (b) that downs did they never swept up the roads, and they never did the hole sec, sec b was made smaller , I used to be b now I,m in sec d , two blocks over, people it all looks good when you have an out side working in the town, but down the road they get you. so #14 you don,t like unions to bad they built this u s a. you sound like a real jerk off. and yes ridgewood is a union town. if you don’t like go tell the fire and police that you fool. non union my ass, you have no balls. give your name chump. every town around us is union police and fire. you must be a scum manger at some shit hole place that you work.

  20. UNION ‘S WILL STAY. # 14

    ARE YOU LIVING UNDER A ROCK.

  21. what about the crew who did the other three sec’s in town. my god what bull , who comes up with this stuff, I need higher boots. I live in sec b for 18 years, yes they did an o k job, but I never seen so much b s out of village hall.

  22. Forgive the union hater it was a bad day at the stock market so either they didn’t get their commission or they lost money. Ether way they will have to re think leasing the new BMw or renewing their membership in the Ridgewood Country Club. Maybe cut back on the dance lesions for the kids or the wife will have to by coffee at Donkin instead of StarBuck. God forbid !

  23. yea god for bid they go to 7 11 , like real people. what did these people do before starbucks,

  24. in my area of town is b they never came to sweep like they did at my son’s area a why is that. my son said they swept every time they picked up leaves in areas a c and d, but in my area downs never did it. the village paid big money for a half fast job, and some say they made the area smaller for them, way is that. I smell a dirty scam going on with the top managers and downs tree service, some say do not trust any of them. and now we the tax people are seeing the games going on. the mayor and council are up to something that smells fishy.the eyes are opening .

  25. See, all of the union thugs come out in force on this blog because they make more money in Ridgewood than the median household here. You guys have driven NJ off a cliff, proud?


  26. Anonymous:

    UNION ‘S WILL STAY. # 14
    ARE YOU LIVING UNDER A ROCK.

    Not under a rock, but when less than a 100 current employees and retirees consume over 50% of the Village’s annual budget in wages, pensions and healthcare, you have to question whether that’s an appropriate trade-off in a Village with only 25,000 people ? The BoE is similar, why should under 1,000 teachers and administrators (less than 4% of our Village population) consume 65% of our annual property taxes? It’s only going to get worse. And the numbers above prove Ridgewood is not a union town. Less than 4% of our Village has active union employees in their household. The number appears higher on this blog due to all of the angry old pensionistas who both a) hate private sector citizens and anyone who would question them, and b) have nothing better to do unless they’re double-dipping or playing golf.

  27. #26 or CK Municipal budgets are largely made up of salary and benefits because that is majority of what they provide. I am a resident and a union member, who would still be living in the Bronx in a walk up if it weren’t for a union. Unions made the middle class and protected they working man from people like you.


  28. Anonymous:

    well in sec (b) that downs did they never swept up the roads, and they never did the hole sec, sec b was made smaller , I used to be b now I,m in sec d , two blocks over, people it all looks good when you have an out side working in the town, but down the road they get you. so #14 you don,t like unions to bad they built this u s a. you sound like a real jerk off. and yes ridgewood is a union town. if you don’t like go tell the fire and police that you fool. non union my ass, you have no balls. give your name chump. every town around us is union police and fire. you must be a scum manger at some shit hole place that you work.

    Im sure that poster you refer to will post his/her name…just like you DID’NT! Lol
    Sounds like YOU are the one ‘with no balls!
    Typical double speak from a union member!

  29. #28, I have lived in the Village for over 40 years and I own a construction business that has been in operation for almost 6 decades. The business was started by my father. Since my fathers passing in the 90s I have been running this company, which has a gross annual income of just over 27 Million dollars.

    I do not know what you do for a living but it’s clear to me that you have never had to manage a payroll or owned a business or a company. Payroll and benefits are always the largest portion of a business expense by far. If you had even a passing knowledge about business you would never have made the statement

    “100 current employees and retirees consume over 50% of the Village’s annual budget in wages, pensions and healthcare. ”

    I suggest you might want to know what your talking about before you make foolish inaccurate comments.


  30. Anonymous:

    “100 current employees and retirees consume over 50% of the Village’s annual budget in wages, pensions and healthcare. ”
    I suggest you might want to know what your talking about before you make foolish inaccurate comments.

    You clearly didn’t understand the comment. If you’d read the Budget Newsletter you would have noticed that, excluding the $4.8mn in debt service which we have to pay as a Village in 2014, police, fire and emergency service wages & benefits consumes $19mn of what’s left of the Village budget, or half of the budget… spent on less than 100 active employees plus retirees. The Village municipal employees and retirees number far more than just public safety employees and retirees, and yet Public safety contractual salary increases represent more than half of
    total salary increases of $900K+ in 2014, and that doesn’t include unfunded liabilities (future retirement payouts to police & fire) of $7.1M (against a reserve of $479K). We had to lay off 10% of the Village workforce in 2010 just to keep feeding this beast, and that has led to a reduction in Village services for all Villagers. That’s a poor trend for Villagers. BTW, what’s the name of your construction firm #29?

  31. $27 Million. Im impressed.

  32. No, I am quite confident I understood your comment as it was written. I am not familiar with the Budget Newsletter you cite, although I am sure it exists and I will obtain a copy of it to review.

    As a rule, in any endeavor the higher trained and educated employees normally command a larger portion of the budget for salary, wages & benefits.

    Since I am at a disadvantage because I am not familiar with the Village budget I will not comment on your claims.

    I am not sure why you would like to know the name of my company, however, if you can provide me with a reasonable explanation as to why you are asking I might answer your question.


  33. Anonymous:

    $27 Million. Im impressed.

    Thanks to daddy

  34. I was able to find a copy of the Village Budget Newsletter for the 2014 budget at the following link.

    https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2014BudgetNews.pdf

    According to this document, which is provided by our Village Manager, the Village has a combined total annual budget of $46.2 million. Out of the $46.2 Million, the Police Department budget expenses are $9.6 Million (20.78%) and the Fire Department is $8.2 Million (17.5%). Combined, Public Safety amounts to $17.8 Million dollars or 38.529% of the annual budget. I can’t help but wonder why you chose to exclude the Debt Service of $4.8 Million from your calculations. By doing so you create the illusion that the overall costs for Public Safety are higher than they actually are in reality.

    To the person who responded to my statement “$27 Million” with “Thanks to daddy”.

    How could you possibly know what my fathers company was generating in revenues in the 1990s. The company could have been running in the black or the red or on the verge of bankruptcy for all you know. Suffice it to say my Father taught me well and provided me with the education and knowledge I needed to be successful. I am, and always will be, thankful for his love and guidance. He truly was a great man.

  35. Anonymous said,

    Think about it #35, if your income is $100, but you have to pay $5 of that in interest on your credit card, you only have $95 left to spend. The interest payment is a fixed cost we have no choice but to pay, not a variable cost that changes with our overall budget.
    _______________________________________________________________________________________

    I have no idea what you do for a living but you clearly have no concept of finances and/or running a private business. Businesses and companies routinely borrow money to grow their business. This can be equipment, tools, vehicles, machinery or property to cite a few items that many times require borrowing to purchase. This debt and the interest created by this debt is always carried as an expense in the annual report of operations for the company. If you produced a report leaving out this information or misreporting it you could be charged with a crime.

    Maybe in government you can get away with not reporting or providing this information, but not in the private sector. Your explanation only serves to confirm my previous suspicions, that you intentionally wanted to create the illusion that the overall costs for Public Safety are higher than they actually are in reality by removing this data from your calculations. My only question is why do you feel that you need to manipulate the numbers to support your conclusion.

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