Roth and williams continue to waste taxpayers dollars because of politics. Privatize recycling like every other town around us. Weak Council president costs us tax dollars

I think the Township Council should be ashamed. They spent almost 2 hours talking about Police OT that actually generated revenue for the town and then took over $100k away from the Police budget. They did not discuss reducing the revenue number, but that will also go down because there will be less tickets issued and less revenue coming into the town. They then spent about 20 minutes discussing the proposal to privatize recycling that would have saved the town more than $500k over 3 years. DiGuilio was quick to make a motion to reject and in doing so she made a loud statement that she does not care about reducing expense and reducing taxes in Mahwah. The 4 council members that voted against this plan did NOT put the needs of Mahwah taxpayers before their own petty political issues. I, like many at the meeting, were appalled by this and the end result will mean higher taxes for all of us. The Mayor worked hard to put a proposal in front of the council that worked for everyone involved including the DPW workers and the Mahwah taxpayer. It is very clear that our township is divided and we as taxpayers will ultimately pay the price because the council is not making decisions that are fiscally responsible and thinking only about their political bias.

1. Outsourced recycling, which saves Mahwah taxpayers money, voted down by the council (we even outsource recycling in the South Pacific).
2. Police OT which generates income for the Town and saves taxpayer money, voted down by the Council.
3. Deals with the Unions struck by the Mayor and his Administration thrown out by the Council jeopardizing the movement of Mahwah Union employees to the State Health Insurance fund which would have saved Mahwah taxpayers millions of dollars over the next 10 years.
4. The Town Council not prudently eliminating their $7,500 each stipend which would have saved Mahwah Tax Payers $52,500 per annum.
5. Taking money from our reserve fund (also called the surplus fund) to theoretically reduce 2013 taxes thus jeopardizing Mahwah's AAA credit rating which could cost Mahwah tax payers more money in interest expense when our bond rating is cut by S&P.

I'm not the smartest first mate in the world, but even I don't have to ask the skipper if there is a trend here!!!

TAKE BACK THE BUDGET MAHWAH!!!

Oh please, if you both can't afford the $15 it's going to save you on your taxes every year, let me know and I'll send it to you. You act like a $150K a year spread over the property tax population of Mahwah is a big deal. What kind of service to you actually expect when you reduce costs by 75%? Say, 75% less effective? Keep Mahwah DPW in place!

I'll bet these two above don't even bother recycling.

Hey Den,just a question about you rant regarding Police OT and DPW,if the town were to say to you"your taxes will go down/stay the same in the next 3 years" would you agree? but the kicker is if the town does not save the money anticipated you must repay the money that the town didn't save by the amount lost over the 3 years through higher taxes above and beyond normal tax increases? Bet I know the answer. I don't like gambling with our money because the "Mayor" says it ok,he can't even answer a simple yes or no question asked of him .

Shame!

Most of the towns that are in the top 10 lowest taxes in Bergen do their own recycling and many do their own garbage....there must be something to it

Gillian, first of all the council members receive 7,000.00 not 7500.00.
Second, the recycling proposal the mayor submitted for approval had been changed at least 4 times since the last time he proposed it. Guess he couldn't get his numbers straight. His assumption that 4 senior member would be possible retiring in 2014....I was always told "don't count your chickens before they hatch". What if they don't retire, then where are we? There were too many inconsistencies. as far as the town surplus..oh boy, how do u think the mayor was able to keep the tax rate at 1.75 last year. Oh yes, he dipped into our surplus to achieve this. Do your homework and you will see thAt i am correct. Mayor Laforet made a comment at a past council meeting saying " you can always tell a council member who is prepared when they show up for a council meeting because they are not opening up their envelopes at the start of the meeting." My question is , why at most meetings does Mr Jandris sit down in his seat at the start of the council meeting and start opening envelopes?! I do agree with you Gilligan your not the smartest mate in the world especially when it comes to what is going on in Mahwah. You need to do more homework. Everything you posted is not fact and inaccurate. Sorry, you get an F.

Oh sorry Gilligan I need to change a typing error I made. It's 2 senior members of the Dpw that the mayor is anticipating retiring, not 4.

This from Mona on recycling:
"I don't like gambling with our money..."
Imagine, we have a council member posting opinions and hiding behind an alias. If that's not proof enough as to how pathetic she or he is, I don't know what is.
It's time to take out the trash and elect a council that begins to at least recognize the taxpayer's needs.

What in the world makes you feel that YOUR needs are the CORRECT needs? Pretty presumptuous of you and the others who bitch and whine about everything this town does, isn't it? I personally wouldn't demand the council take my views and enact them (I could care less), but I certainly don't want them applying your views either. I voted for them to make the decisions, not you, and the other complainers.

JP, the council's job is to represent ALL of Mahwah, not just municipal employees. Their job is to wisely spend the town's resources (taxes). Absolutely no one can predict to the penny what a program will cost or save until it's put into motion. Lastly, not a single person on this council suggested a compromise or a work around to the issue. The simple answer is to give it a chance with a 3 year commitment, and if it doesn't meet the standards set, we can always go back to the status quo... and see if you can find a single town that has gone back to the status quo.

What makes the Mayor's interest in reviewing methods that might save the Mahwah taxpayer money "dubious at best"? And why do you wish to quash creative thought?
Who made you king and yes, in a free society we do compromise and we're not afraid of trial and error... why are you king JP?
And other than worrying about reducing the workforce and not having a guaranteed cost savings carved in stone, pray tell king JP, what in depth analysis did this stellar council base their vote on...hmmm, wait, you did say "politics" didn't you. Notice how the word or concern for TAXPAYER never enters into your diatribe. And as for your rude and crude "balls" comment, once again you go off half cocked on something you have little knowledge of, and I know my pun/itive response will go way over your head.

No Eileen, the question is... who made YOU, queen? And if you mean over my head I have to tell you your posts do not go over my head, they go in one ear and out the other. Get it?

Got it and thank you JP for confirming what I always thought... which is that there's nothing between your ears to impede that flow of information.
Happy Easter!