Friday, July 10, 2009
BY MICHAEL SEDON
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
For at least the next six months, village parking meter rates will increase while the enforcement hours will be shortened, and municipal lots will offer free parking on Saturdays. But village officials say the added revenue will support much more than parking spaces and enforcement.
Effective Aug. 1, the new parking rates are slated to rise to 50 cents an hour at all village meters. Enforcement times will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Village Council and the Chief Financial Officer Dorothy Stikna fielded questions at a public meeting on Wednesday that revealed the council's hopes that the increased revenue would cover the cost of numerous change orders and additional bond ordinances associated with the East Ridgewood Avenue Streetscape project. Stikna also discussed the maze of accounting that allocates different percentages of the parking revenues to various departments within Village Hall to offset some of the burden on taxpayers to support the Central Business District (CBD).
Tom Hillman, owner of Hillman Electric, which has been in business for 100 years in Ridgewood, voiced his concern with the parking rate increase as it relates to the stability of downtown businesses.
"The downtown is a little more fragile than I think you understand," Hillman said at Wednesday night's public meeting.
Resident Boyd Loving asked what the genesis was that brought about a meter rate increase. Deputy Mayor Keith Killion responded that the Chamber of Commerce approached the council months ago and asked for a four-hour decrease in meter enforcement.
"We looked at it and said in order to do that and maintain what we have, there would have to be a parking [rate] increase," Killion said.
Councilman Pat Mancuso added that many people who frequent CBD restaurants for an early breakfast or a late dinner would often be ticketed during their visits because of the 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. enforcement hours.
"Most of the businesses downtown start at 10 a.m.," Mancuso said. "So it seemed logical, to me anyway, [to] start the meters at 10 a.m."
But according to chamber President Doug Seiferling, when the chamber made its request for reduced enforcement times at the meters and agreed to increased rates, a parking garage was still proposed to be built at the North Walnut Street Redevelopment District. (Seiferling is distribution manager for North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Ridgewood News.)
Also adding to the parking utility's approximately $100,000 deficit last year and this year's continued deficit was the increase in payments to police, fire and public employees' retirement systems and the debt service on the $3 million bond the village issued for the parking garage project that was voted down earlier this year.
The village allocated a total of $106,358 to retirement systems in 2008 from the parking utility, and this year it will allocate $129,870 into the retirement system in addition to the $127,500 debt service for the parking garage, according to figures from the CFO's office.
"The revenue from the utility is being allocated out to, it seems like the number Ms. Stikna gave, 20 different departments in the community," Loving said. "People came up and talked about the expenses of the utility; there really are no expenses in the utility. There are no employees in the utility. The revenues are being used to cover the expenses of the community on a prorated basis."
Stikna said there are actually 25 individual budgets that use some of the parking utility revenue to supplement their budgets. She said 15 budgets are labor-related, which covers salaries and wages, while the remaining 10 items are related to electricity, Social Security and other non-labor expenses.
Through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, Loving obtained total budget figures for the last three years for the parking utility. The utility brought in a total of $991,432 in 2008, but $100,671 of taxpayer money was used to offset the utility's debt. This money was represented as revenue in the figures Loving provided The Ridgewood News, but village officials said the additional revenue from the parking-rate increase will be used to pay back Ridgewood taxpayers.
"Why don't we take a look at the expense side, since all the expenses are being charged to these departments, and reduce the expenses without having to raise the parking-meter fees?" asked resident Roger Wiegand.
Stikna projected the 2010 parking utility revenue to be $1.135 million, and she said the rates have not been raised in eight years. Killion added that while expenses have gone up, the rates have not. He explained that the increase will realize additional revenue for the village for the first few years, but as the costs of things like asphalt, health insurance, salaries and other expenses charged through the utility rise, eventually the revenue and expenses will even out.
"It's become a user fee," Killion added. "Why should the taxpayer support the downtown business area?"
Wiegand countered Killion's remarks by pointing out that a "viable downtown" affects surrounding property values, and he pressed the council to look at reducing expenses while the country is in a recession.
"No one wants to do this," Mayor David Pfund said. "Paving lots down there, having an extra police officer and paving roads, that this money can be recouped to try to benefit the taxpayers so they don't bear the full burden."
Councilman Paul Aronsohn agreed with the mayor that improving the downtown would benefit taxpayers, but reiterated his stance that the rate increase is excessive.
E-mail: sedon@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
BY MICHAEL SEDON
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
For at least the next six months, village parking meter rates will increase while the enforcement hours will be shortened, and municipal lots will offer free parking on Saturdays. But village officials say the added revenue will support much more than parking spaces and enforcement.
Effective Aug. 1, the new parking rates are slated to rise to 50 cents an hour at all village meters. Enforcement times will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Village Council and the Chief Financial Officer Dorothy Stikna fielded questions at a public meeting on Wednesday that revealed the council's hopes that the increased revenue would cover the cost of numerous change orders and additional bond ordinances associated with the East Ridgewood Avenue Streetscape project. Stikna also discussed the maze of accounting that allocates different percentages of the parking revenues to various departments within Village Hall to offset some of the burden on taxpayers to support the Central Business District (CBD).
Tom Hillman, owner of Hillman Electric, which has been in business for 100 years in Ridgewood, voiced his concern with the parking rate increase as it relates to the stability of downtown businesses.
"The downtown is a little more fragile than I think you understand," Hillman said at Wednesday night's public meeting.
Resident Boyd Loving asked what the genesis was that brought about a meter rate increase. Deputy Mayor Keith Killion responded that the Chamber of Commerce approached the council months ago and asked for a four-hour decrease in meter enforcement.
"We looked at it and said in order to do that and maintain what we have, there would have to be a parking [rate] increase," Killion said.
Councilman Pat Mancuso added that many people who frequent CBD restaurants for an early breakfast or a late dinner would often be ticketed during their visits because of the 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. enforcement hours.
"Most of the businesses downtown start at 10 a.m.," Mancuso said. "So it seemed logical, to me anyway, [to] start the meters at 10 a.m."
But according to chamber President Doug Seiferling, when the chamber made its request for reduced enforcement times at the meters and agreed to increased rates, a parking garage was still proposed to be built at the North Walnut Street Redevelopment District. (Seiferling is distribution manager for North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Ridgewood News.)
Also adding to the parking utility's approximately $100,000 deficit last year and this year's continued deficit was the increase in payments to police, fire and public employees' retirement systems and the debt service on the $3 million bond the village issued for the parking garage project that was voted down earlier this year.
The village allocated a total of $106,358 to retirement systems in 2008 from the parking utility, and this year it will allocate $129,870 into the retirement system in addition to the $127,500 debt service for the parking garage, according to figures from the CFO's office.
"The revenue from the utility is being allocated out to, it seems like the number Ms. Stikna gave, 20 different departments in the community," Loving said. "People came up and talked about the expenses of the utility; there really are no expenses in the utility. There are no employees in the utility. The revenues are being used to cover the expenses of the community on a prorated basis."
Stikna said there are actually 25 individual budgets that use some of the parking utility revenue to supplement their budgets. She said 15 budgets are labor-related, which covers salaries and wages, while the remaining 10 items are related to electricity, Social Security and other non-labor expenses.
Through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, Loving obtained total budget figures for the last three years for the parking utility. The utility brought in a total of $991,432 in 2008, but $100,671 of taxpayer money was used to offset the utility's debt. This money was represented as revenue in the figures Loving provided The Ridgewood News, but village officials said the additional revenue from the parking-rate increase will be used to pay back Ridgewood taxpayers.
"Why don't we take a look at the expense side, since all the expenses are being charged to these departments, and reduce the expenses without having to raise the parking-meter fees?" asked resident Roger Wiegand.
Stikna projected the 2010 parking utility revenue to be $1.135 million, and she said the rates have not been raised in eight years. Killion added that while expenses have gone up, the rates have not. He explained that the increase will realize additional revenue for the village for the first few years, but as the costs of things like asphalt, health insurance, salaries and other expenses charged through the utility rise, eventually the revenue and expenses will even out.
"It's become a user fee," Killion added. "Why should the taxpayer support the downtown business area?"
Wiegand countered Killion's remarks by pointing out that a "viable downtown" affects surrounding property values, and he pressed the council to look at reducing expenses while the country is in a recession.
"No one wants to do this," Mayor David Pfund said. "Paving lots down there, having an extra police officer and paving roads, that this money can be recouped to try to benefit the taxpayers so they don't bear the full burden."
Councilman Paul Aronsohn agreed with the mayor that improving the downtown would benefit taxpayers, but reiterated his stance that the rate increase is excessive.
E-mail: sedon@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/50426132.html?c=y&page=2
Posts
18 comments:
looks like Graydon isnt the only tning losing money
I agree (8:34)....
Fortunately, parking meters don't have a health and user standard to rely on.... like a "grand-fathered" pond clause to keep using them....over and over and over.
God help us
....
Come on! Is this really a big deal? I have always thought the meter rates were low. I liked that fact. But, I have to admit that I have never thought that the rate was as high as it should be. It always seemed like a quaint throwback to earlier times...sort of a nostagic thing about Ridgewood. But, guess what, maybe now is the time for Ridgewood to catch up with 2009. The city of Chicago just increased their parking rates across the city by 2-3 times. If you wanted to park in NYC for an hour, you would pay over $10.
Rates have not gone up in 8 years. But, maybe $0.25 was not the right rate back then either. Is there anyone, who parks downtown and cannot afford to pay $.50 an hour? Absolutely not. The increase will have absolutely no impact on commerce downtown. So, grow up and get realistic about what it costs to provide municipal services these days in Ridgewood.
It is not the rate that bothers me. It is the inconvenience of searching for change. In addition I need to remember to check my watch often to ensure that I don't get a ticket. The malls don't charge me for parking. I can stay as long as I want without worring that I will be ticketed.
The extended hours to 8PM are also a way of catching prople who come to town in the evening. Shopping in Ridgewood is a cat & mouse game with parking enforcement. I usually opt out.
Anybody notice the empty stores in Ridgewood?
Anybody think that the meters and the nasty cops writing tickets might deter folks from coming to town and shopping?
Anyone read the letter to the Ridgewood news from the lady who came to Ridgewood to shop, got a ticket for backing into a spot to park, and won't come back?
Anybody who lives in town still has to pay to park in town and still gets tickets, so this isn't helping the local Ridgewood resident.
Rip out the meters, fire the meter maids and find a way to cut the town expenses or Ridgewood will become an empty ghost town.
Get an apartment near downtown and walk.
.... but, that's another problem..... Parking in New York is impossible...forget it.
How about parking slugs at a reduced rate? More paper work I guess...
Princeton has ruthless parking enforcement and a thriving business district. Oh, right, they have a huge university. Never mind.
The Princeton parking meters even tell you how late you are. Once I got a ticket when I was 59 seconds late, and the meter maid was nowhere to be seen. Must have been standing there waiting and wrote it out at -:00:01.
Well what can one say, my family will shortly leave Ridgewood. We came here because of good schools and great environment. Now all I can say is if you elect the 'village idiots' to run the show what do you expect!
Glen Rock has a nice downtown to shop- no meters-plenty of parking--has a hardware store!
Looks like I will be transferring my prescroptions there- Have a large cvs.
11:38...
Is Ridgewood Chicago or NYC? What a ridiculous comparison.
Glen Rock has plenty of FREE parking, and a great downtown, plenty of banks, restaurants, Starbucks, a hardware store, a pharmacy with its own parking lot, even a post office with its own lot!
I do my errands in Glen Rock. It has all the basics that I need in a town. I can always park my car without worrying about staying past the meter.
While there are a number of placed in Ridgewood that I will go out of my way to do business with, I do agree that Glen Rock has a lot to offer. The downtown area is smaller, better set up and better managed. Free parking is always a good selling point. However, they do have time restricted parking and permit only areas From what I can tell their parking ticket guy does give out his far share of tickets. You also have to be careful about making left turns in town as their cops don't seem to feel it is not safe.
Glen Rock has the all American small downtown with everything that you need. Ridgewood is more like Metropolis. Things are spread out and if you are not careful you can wind up on Broad when your meter down by the Gap is expiring.
i suggest you move to glen rock. the tax rate is actually higher than ridgewood
thats so true about glen rock,nice town and yes it is very hi in taxes,and it is still chep to park in town,
My children are too far along in school to move. I will just visit Glen Rock. If I had to do it over again I would have moved to Ho Ho Kus.
It doesn't matter to me whether the cost is 25 cents or fifty cents (although sometimes it is hard to find the quarters). I wind up on a schedule and can't stop at an extra store if i want to.
Ticketing is a moneymaker, but I don't play the game. I shop where I can park.
I'm glad I closed my store. Downtown Ridgewood has been a ghost town between 10AM to 6PM for about a year now, and this will just make it worse. Bad for retailers, but good for the restaurants. Maybe someone should lobby to change the name of the village to the Ridgewood Family Feedbag and Bankatorium™.
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