Tiger Team : Village Council DOES have a obligation to explore these recommendations thoroughly
The Village Council has no obligation to follow the specific recommendations of the Tiger Team. But, the Village Council asked them to perform their work. They don’t appear to have had any particular agenda, which is more than I can say for any of the Village Council members.
Their report presented a great deal of factual historical information that had not been presented to taxpayers in the past. They also appear to have presented some very thoughtful and recommendations to address our fiscal problems. Although, as they suggested in their report, there are many other areas that need to be looked at, including the BOE. While the the Council may not have an obligation to follow the recommendations, I can’t imagine why they would not want to avoid at least using them as a starting point.
I would suggest that the Village Council DOES have a obligation to explore these recommendations thoroughly. If they can come up with better ways to reverse the run away annual increases to Ridgewood’s property tax liability, that is great. But, doing nothing is not an option.
If you or others have a reason why any of the recommendations shouldn’t be followed, explain why or come up with better alternatives.
In summary, the biggest budget problems are salaries, healthcare and pensions. The others are not as significant.
The bigger issue is the salaries,healthcare and pensions at the BOE. I did not need the Tiger Team to tell me that.
Clearly, salaries, healthcare and pensions are the biggest drivers of the budget and tax increases. That is true in every municipality around the country. But, that doesn’t mean that other areas should be ignored.
From what I recall, the report includes numerous recommendations that sought to address improved operational efficiencies, etc. These have nothing to do with contract terms. After reading the report, I thought of some cost saving that were not part of recommendations in the report. Combined with the report recommendations, I would not be surprised if the village could reduce its municipal budget expenses by 5% relatively quickly, before even attempting to address salaries, healtcare and pensions (much of which cannot be changed).
Of course it is one thing to identify the cost saving opportunities. It is something entirely different for the Village Council to take action.
One thing that should be looked at is the practice of low bid purchasing and bid spec writing, the cheapest offer is not always the best product, or the cheapest in the long run.
Much like the federal budget. – without changes to salary, healthcare and pensions there will not be any real savings. Lets address the 800 pound gorilla.
And – surprise – the boe is raising my taxes by about $350. It is going to be hard for the council to cut enough to offset that. I know that they two organizations do not work together but the net effect is that I always pay kore.
The Council should absolutely be following the recommendations, if possible. If not, they should come up with plans that result in even greater operational and cost efficiencies. Most of the recommendations are simple common sense. We could use a bit more of that from our elected officials and village management.
Common sense – move all elections to November. The impact on schools and wasted money is shameful.
What were the exact recommendations for personnel savings?
Government budgets at all levels are always labor intensive, especially in a service oriented town like RWD. Alot of the tiger teams recomendations are the function of civil service law and pension law. These changes need to be made by legislation( which have already started). There are communities that choose not to have a local police force, and paid fire, but do without the service they provide If RWD wants to continue to enjoy these services there will be the cost factor that goes along with them. Furthermore comparing a public employees salary from northern bergen county to other areas of the county and state is ludicrous, and unrealistic, and the labor cost market is adjusting and sustainable, perhaps not to the degree that some people will like but it is working itself out.