End of an Era? Ridgewood, NJ Searches for a New Village Engineer with $200,000 Salary After Current Tenure Marred by Bike Lane and Soil Fiascos
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Village of Ridgewood, known for its award-winning downtown and strong community pride, is actively seeking a highly qualified professional to fill the demanding dual role of Public Works Director and Village Engineer. The urgency of the search comes as the tenure of the current Village Engineer, Christopher Rutishauser, has been marked by significant public controversy surrounding municipal projects, including contentious bike lane implementations and issues related to the Schedler property soil scandal.
The municipality is looking for an experienced leader to oversee a massive department budget and bring strong, transparent management to its essential infrastructure.
The Role and the Requirements: Over $10 Million Budget to Manage
This is not an entry-level position. The successful candidate will be a vital member of the municipal management and OEM team, overseeing a bustling department of over 50 full-time personnel and managing a total departmental budget exceeding $10.2 million.
The Village is seeking an individual who can hit the ground running, with applications due by November 28, 2025.
Key Qualifications Required:
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Licensure: Must possess a P.E. (Professional Engineer) license and a CPWM (Certified Public Works Manager) certification.
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Experience: A minimum of 5 years of equivalent relevant managerial experience in a public works environment.
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Expertise: Extensive experience managing infrastructure, including:
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Sanitary collection system and treatment plant.
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Stormwater collection systems.
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Streets/fleet maintenance and traffic management.
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NJ DEP permitting, planning, and zoning.
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Administration: Strong understanding of Local Public Contract Law, vendor contract management, and familiarity with Edmunds financial software and Microsoft applications.
The advertised salary range is competitive for the region, falling between $140,000 and $200,000.
A New Chapter for Ridgewood’s Infrastructure
The Village’s public notice for this combined position emphasizes the need for an individual who excels at strong customer service, detail orientation, and the ability to simultaneously handle multiple complex operations.
The successful candidate will inherit a critical mandate: restoring public confidence in the execution of major infrastructure projects and ensuring the smooth operation of municipal services. This leader will work closely with the Village Manager and other key finance and management personnel.
This high-profile job opening signifies a pivotal moment for Ridgewood, as the community looks for fresh, accountable leadership to guide its infrastructure development and management into the next decade.
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It was all Christopher Rutishauser’s fault.
You friend, KK.
I never had a problem with Chris. I found him quite reasonable.
He was a typical arrogant “engineer” and then add in his bike lane and illegal soil dumping. Another village employee who got off by “retiring.” The Village will never find someone to fill the position with a PE and CPWM certification – they’ll be lucky if they receive two resumes.
Oh God not another friend of Paul and KK Seek outside help not related to these 2. And GOOD BYE To YOU, that awful bully of an engineer we have. Can we put Bigios on this exit list too?
By combining TWO requirements, they have made sure it’s a friend of KK that will be hired! I know who this person is!!
No, they didn’t. It’s always been the same two requirement’s. No, you don’t know who that person is. Don’t flatter yourself.
Good luck getting someone with those qualifications in that salary range.
This story kinda reminds me of the first snow falls before an avalanche
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Bye, bye Chris!
Applications are due the day after Thanksgiving?
I hope this was posted in professional circles a while ago. Surely a week is ridiculous.
Smoke and mirrors again just like verythi g else. They have their guy already. Probably kk wife or brother or cousin. More Paterson people. 🤣
I am quite sure that the local person selected after an extensive nationwide search will have gotten his or her application in on time.
Applications due by November 28?
When was this position advertised?
Such a short notice would mean this is going to a friend of Keith Kazmark, just like how he was hired without much of an advertisement and resume collection as he was the campaign manager for Paul Vagianos!!
Is’s Rich Calibi doing the DpW role?
Is his salary going to be reduced if they are going to pay someone else to do this job?
Enough with the stupid bike lanes. The underpass at Franklin and Broad is still so much worse. It should just be redone to put it back the way it was
The advertisement was posted on November 3.
The advertisement is written for a specific person. I am sending an email to the AG of New Jersey dated today telling them who are they planning to hire through this sham process.
This email before the application closing date will ensure that my information can be vouched when they finally hire this person.
This corruption and hiring of friends and family must stop!!
OPRA communications with this person before Nov 3. If possible. They are sneaky it was probably all phone calls. No record of it like the healthbarn and mayors 4 mill
There is a GOD!
The Village Engineer facilitated the deliberate contamination at Schedler. I hope they need a replacement because he is being charged.
chris was responsible for every major F-UP in this town over the last 20 years
But kept his job what does that say for our town management
Let me take you something to everybody, they know they were going to hire for the application process, even went out. They had back door meetings, conferences behind closed doors. Oh yes. I wouldn’t trust anyone their professional liars, extremely sneaky. And I hope they hire someone from the outside. And to top that that salary for today’s standards is not that great considering the credentials you need. Today on channel 12 news they said if you make $140,000 in Hudson County or lower that’s poverty. Think about that. What the hell is Bob level in Bergen County. So for 200 grand it’s nothing to brag about. The person who gets that position will be a yes man or woman. You’re not gonna be able to run that department by yourself. Someone’s always gonna be on your shoulders and if they don’t like you see ya , and if someone gets that position that’s employed by the town already then you know they’re real ass kisser, and their plan their bullshit game altogether dirty pool. You’re better off just being an employee at top step. Take the overtime on call time and you do pretty good. Who needs all that stress and bullshit it’s all aggravation and they want you to be on call 20 470 yes. They don’t care about you your family your kids who’s sick they don’t give two shits. It’s just not worth it. But someone’s out there with a big head saying look at me look at the position I got. Over the person they put in a position has no family no wife no kids no outside responsibilities just Ridgewood Ridgewood Ridgewood Ridgewood 24 seven good luck .
Dave, please proof read your comments. Thank you.
Hey Chris ☠️