Issues
Ringwood is a unique gem of a community. A suburban town with a decidedly rural character rich in both environmental resources and caring citizens. But both our environment and our people are faced with numerous challenges ranging from underground pollution to our stagnant economy. Stay tuned to this site, and particularly to this page. Here we will keep you updated on the issues that impact your taxes, your property value, your safety, your community, your environment, and your quality of life. Throughout the campaign, we'll show you how the incumbents have put the interests of their friends and families above the interests of the Ringwood community at large. We believe that open, transparent government is the only way to ensure that our citizens are receiving the services they deserve in the most efficient and responsive manner. Here are some examples:
Political Patronage at its Worst – At a time when towns all over New Jersey are cutting back on staff or freezing salaries, and people all over the country are losing jobs, the incumbent administration continues to offers plumb jobs to their cronies. They do this without any attempt to hire the best qualified person for the job, or without proper or advertised job searches. They shamelessly created a brand new position of Deputy Manager for the Republican municipal leader, a man whose primary work experience was owner of a small landscape company. They have since promoted him to Director of Public Works/Deputy Manager, at an annual cost to taxpayers of $130,056, although he had absolutely no experience in supervising municipal public works projects or large staffs. They also hired the Republican club legal counsel as Borough Attorney, at a higher salary than the previous person who held that position. After only six short years, the current Borough Manager/Borough Clerk has gone from part time clerk/typist job to her current salary of $117,000. Again, there was never any job search for a professional manager, they just promoted one of their own.
Open Space Funds - In 2008, the incumbent council applied for $1.025 million in Open Space Funds for a piece of property owned by their developer friends. This in spite of the fact that this same developer had declared bankruptcy and left our town in the lurch for $500K in capital improvements. The application by the council was filled with untruthful information, yet it was signed and attested to by Borough Manager Kelley Rohde and Mayor Walter Davison. The county Open Space Committee did their homework, found the application to not be legitimate and denied it, declaring that they remembered the same developer coming to the county and claiming the land was virtually worthless to get his taxes reduced, as a result the land was on the tax rolls as being worth only $30K. And as bad as it is that the Ringwood council tried to get their friends a million dollars for a piece of land on our tax rolls valued at $30K, it also means that another legitimate application was not submitted instead and Ringwood lost out on the chance to obtain Open Space Funds for the year of 2008.
Highlands tax stabilization refund Council Failed to Apply costing Town $50,000 - When Council Candidate Tom Mac Allen questioned at a council meeting why there had not been an application for the Highlands tax stabilization refund, Borough Manager Kelley Rohde declared that the program was no longer in existence. At a subsequent meeting, when Council Candidate Grace Hazeldine asked to see proof of that fact, Manager Rhode recanted and had to admit that the program was still in existence but the money had never been applied for, costing the taxpayers $50K.
Quarry Update- Council Allows Braen to Continue Excavation Below Limit of Consent Order Potentially Adding years to the misery of local Residents During the quarry relicensing hearing, it was revealed that since the Democrats left office that Braen has excavated at least 40 feet deeper than limited by the 1996 court ordered consent decree. Upon hearing of this, Mayor Davison was heard to say “There should have been inspections that would have divulged that, wouldn’t you think?” Yes, Mayor, you would think. The new terms designed to protect Ringwood taxpayers included quarterly monitoring. The current administration, apparently oblivious, fired the previous engineering company and hired their own “expert,” only he never followed up…not quarterly, not at all. And now, rather than demanding that the quarry cease operations in violation of both the consent decree and their present licensing agreement, Councilwoman Anderson cast the deciding vote allowing the quarry to continue excavating for 3 more months. This was despite the fact that the Borough Attorney stated his belief that the consent order does limit the depth to the elevation of 370', and they have been in violation since the end of 2007. It should be noted in the last local election the Republican Campaign accepted a $1000 donation from the Braen family.
Highlands Fair - Incumbent Councilpersons Marsala, Anderson and Schaefer voted against continuing the very successful Ringwood Highlands Fair. Not only was the fair enjoyed by everyone who attended and was a great way for the community to get together, local small businesses, boy and girl scouts and other local groups all lost an opportunity to make some money for their organizations.
Getting our word out is only half of our challenge. We also need to hear your words, your concerns, your ideas for making Ringwood better and preserving the town's character and charm. So feel free to contact us by clicking here.