>Ridgewood Village Council trying to decrease increase in tax rate
THURSDAY MARCH 22, 2012, 3:28 PM
BY JOSEPH CRAMER
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Village Council has started considering means to trim a preliminary 7.5 percent increase in the municipal tax rate for 2012, with one councilman suggesting a different approach to the yearly budgeting process altogether.
Faced with a combination of a drop in revenues and an increase in pre-determined appropriations, officials are looking at areas where cuts can be made to mitigate the financial burden on residents while avoiding personnel cuts and keeping village services intact.
“I don’t know what number to arrive at yet,” said Mayor Keith Killion. “We haven’t even gotten through every department budget. We haven’t had the chance to ask these departments, ‘Well, why do you need this?’… All we have in our mind, and I can speak for every council person here, is we want to get the lowest tax rate possible for our residents without affecting services.”
