the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Village of Ridgewood released details of its proposed $64.8 million municipal budget for 2025, highlighting key infrastructure investments and setting the stage for a public hearing and council vote scheduled for May 14 at 7:30 p.m.
The budget includes a $3.5 million increase in total appropriations from 2024 and outlines several priorities, including significant upgrades to the Ridgewood Water utility.
📊 Budget Overview
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2025 Budget Total: $64.8 million
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2024 Budget Total: $61.3 million
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Tax Levy Increase: $42.3 million (up from $39.7M in 2024)
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Tax Rate Impact: An increase of $0.021 per $100 of assessed value
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Estimated Homeowner Impact: $149.63 increase for a home assessed at $712,700
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Tax Increase Percentage: 3.14%
The municipal portion of the property tax bill accounts for 24.01%, while the village library tax contributes an additional 1.7% ($2.9 million). The remaining portion of the tax bill is made up of school and county taxes.
🚰 Ridgewood Water Utility Projects
A major focus of the 2025 budget is the Ridgewood Water utility, which serves approximately 61,000 customers in Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff. The utility accounts for $24.5 million of the overall budget.
Key Water Utility Goals for 2025:
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Complete construction and activate PFAS treatment facilities at Ravine, East Ridgewood, West End, and Prospect by the end of 2025
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Begin construction on four additional PFAS treatment facilities
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Update the system hydraulic model and implement recommendations for better water transfer between system zones
🏗️ Infrastructure and Community Goals
In addition to water utility improvements, the budget supports several other local initiatives aimed at enhancing community infrastructure and preserving village assets.
Other Key Budget Priorities:
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Complete the West Glen Avenue sidewalk project
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Reinstall the Kingsbridge Lane pedestrian bridge
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Finalize testing and begin the $1.5 million Soil Remediation Project at the Schedler property
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Secure a long-term tenant for the historic Zabriskie-Schedler House
📅 Important Dates & Public Access
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Public Hearing & Council Vote: May 14 at 7:30 p.m.
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Full Budget Presentation: Available at ridgewoodnj.net/274/Ridgewood-TV
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Budget Spreadsheet: Viewable at ridgewoodnj.net/archives
🏫 Ridgewood School Budget
While separate from the municipal budget, the 2025-2026 Ridgewood Public Schools budget totals $131 million, making up 63% of the overall property tax bill. The Board of Education will hold a public hearing on April 28.
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Use the millions already reserved for Schedler and remove the additional $1.5 million from 2025 budget.
The money cannot be repurposed that way
where there is a will there is a way. Didn’ our former councilperson ask the CFO if it could be leveraged and he said yes.
No more money
I’m RICH and STUPID , I’ll blissfully pay.
How about you?
“Secure a long-term tenant for the historic Zabriskie-Schedler House”
I busted out laughing at that one.
Move the health barn to schedler!
Ms. A and her crew are running private party ops outside of park hours over at the other park with their brand new pavilion the mayor and council gave to her. there are too many watching eyes and rules that she won’t be able to slip past a very present and watchful Schedler neighborhood.
How about fix what really needs to fixed. Are we not tired of listening to Winograd whine about that house and all of them talk about their turf field. We dont need it and many don’t want it.
DOGE Ridgewood
Stop giving things to Healthbarn. Raise the rent for the use of the entire park and charge for the pavilion. Stop the freebies. Where is that 4 million presented to them 4 years ago. The mayor was there?
Here is my issue. The spin is a 3.1% tax increase on the municipal portion but the reality is that the budget actually increased by 4.56%. The discrepancy is that the ratables increased by ~$300m which conveniently gets rolled into the number and skews the “increase” to the downside.
So here it is. The budget is well in excess of inflation. And that boys and girls is a fact.
Look at the school budget
Yes, With the Community School model the BOE is trying pass by residents without them knowing. Definitely a deeper audit is needed.
How about get rid of the Dpw director? That’ll save us a good 250,000. Or more what is his exact pay with the stipends? I can imagine he’s the main culprit that should be released Ekastown millions he should’ve been fired many years ago with his verbal harassment. I remember he said he was one of the smallest men in three states remember that one, He’s a legend his own mind.👨🏻⚕️☠️, we have a new name for Mr. contamination that fits some good.
Can anyone explain where the new ratable are sourced from. They are claiming that it totals $208 million. That is an awful large sum of money and I am just really interested in learning whether this is guaranteed or just an estimate or predicted outcome and then if it doesn’t come through, what happens?
While you are at it, let’s get rid of Mr. Kazmark who is making a huge salary being Paulie’s puppet and calling balls and strikes. We need someone who can actually be a good manager without the glitz and glory. Keith is a politician with no investment in Ridgewood. Mayor and council are worthless but evicting them will be impossible. The bad seeds have already sprouted.
He is a social media whore
I’m not a very informed resident as I’ve only been living in Ridgewood for 3 years but being a native to bergen co, this guy Kazmark looks like a drifter tho. He hasnt even been here a year. Lets see what he gets up to doing cause I got a whole list fulls of problems. We’re in the enlightened age in Ridgewood during the end times. You think were gonna sit back and watch these fake leaders continue to sell us out. Do your little 1 year stunt and bounce just like all these leaders of corporations have been doing which first hand I have been noticing alot its happened 2x already since Covid. new predisent or ceo and then they leave . its like a game of how much money they can make and how they can weasle their way to the top. They come in for a year, make money stay relevant for a little longer and then sell out.
Clean house from the top down.
A.k.a. Mustache boy, you look like peeweeHerman riding a motorcycle.👨🏻⚕️☠️