Mahwah Council Strikes Down Plan to Outsource Recycling
The council voted 5-2 against the administration's plan that would have led to the firing of four DPW employees.
The Mahwah Township Council Thursday night voted to keep recycling services in Mahwah despite urging from the administration that outsourcing would be the best available option to help the township meet its financial obligations in the face of a state 2 percent tax cap.
The council voted 5 to 2 to keep the Department of Public Works as the recycling service provider. The decision came after a two and a half hour back and forth meeting in which the administration presented its argument for outsourcing the Department of Public Works and dozens of Mahwah residents adamantly spoke out against the proposal.
Council members John Spiech and Samuel Alderisio voted for the outsourcing and council members Roy Larson, John Roth, Charles Jandris, Lisa DiGiulio and Harry Williams voted against.
A number of council members expressed trepidation with the plan, suggesting the decision should be held off until the financial situation could be analyzed further and understood more completely.
"I see no compelling reason why this decision has to be made in 2012," Councilman Williams said.
Councilwoman DiGiulio at times spoke vehemently against the proposition.
"You could privatize everything... but is that the kind of town we want to live in?" DiGiulio asked rhetorically. "What kind of community would this be? I don't want to lose any of the [township employees.]"
The future of the township’s Recycling Department had been in question following a July meeting at which Mayor Bill Laforet proposed privatizing the department. More than 130 residents, including a large group of Department of Public Works employees wearing neon green shirts — and with a large blow-up union rat in tow — gathered at town hall to hear the council’s opinions on privatization.
The Recycling Department, made up of seven public employees, is an arm of the DPW. Laforet proposed eliminating the department and replacing it with a private service that would pick up and transport residents’ recycling.
The plan floated by the administration proposed a savings of more than $334,000 through privatization.
Councilman Roth, however, questioned the figures presented by the administration's plan at the August 9 meeting, calling them "almost laughable."
"How could those numbers be realistic?" asked Roth. "I don't think this math is right and I don't think the savings are real."
Business Administrator Brian Campion and Laforet both rebuked Roth, defending the cost savings plan, which is attached to this story.
"It's unconscionable that an $83,000 employee is picking up your recycling," Laforet said after the August 9 meeting. "We would have saved nearly $4 million over 10 years and this council decided to vote against the tax payer."
"The taxpayer needs to know the truth about what's going on," Laforet continued.
Laforet said the only reasons any council member had voted against the outsourcing plan were "purely political" ones. Asked what the administration would do to meet its budget goals, Laforet was hesitant.
"We now have to go into the budget season realizing 100 percent of the savings in only nine months of the year," he responded. "The cuts that you will see are dire."
fred stedtler
10:52 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
congratulations on the council deciding to keep recycling within the towns DPW! I am so glad they decided to vote on this measure tonight and didn't put it off again.
Q
11:18 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Cooler heads prevailed and the council did the right thing tonight. The numbers were not clear and now every dept should come up with savings and then vet the results. Seems the budget is off by a bad judgment of granting 2.5% raises across the board with the last Mayor. Furloughs and time off without pay can be one way of offsetting this so we keep the employees we need. There are many creative ways to raise money instead of layoffs. You could cost justify an employee by just shutting off lights on empty fields all week or transfer municipal budget to the BOE.
Regenbogen
11:48 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Congratulations dedicated workers of the Mahwah DPW....
WhoCares; Mahwah
2:01 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
How about the issue of increasing the town recycling effectiveness whereby increasing revenues and the issue of obtaining bronze sustainability certification with the State to receive grants. This would save jobs and close the budget gap.
Robb Roberts
10:44 am on Saturday, August 11, 2012
goof idea
Robb Roberts
10:47 am on Saturday, August 11, 2012
that should be "good" idea
JP
2:03 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
Bravo! I'd much rather pay the extra $2.00 in taxes and keep our town workers employed. Let's look at bringing in new revenue to lower taxes instead of cuts to lower taxes.
Mahwah res
7:30 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
I would like to know why my mother, who lives in Little Ferry, received a call regarding this topic! I support public workers, however I am not a supporter of a person or organization prying into my personal information. I am a current resident in mahwah and have lived here for 5 years. I go by my married name, how would someone get my past information and place phone calls to my family in a town I no longer live in and is NOT called mahwah?
NDW
7:37 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
Laforet, liar liar pants on fire! Busted numbers, double talk, admits to stealing people's names for web sites in the dark of night then calls it common practice. Not in Mahwah Mayor! There is a bad smell coming from town hall.
Ralph
12:33 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Speak with your votes in November and tell everyone you know what is happening in this town. In just 8 months this Mayor has accomplished nothing and continues to be arrogant and self serving. He admits to purching domain names of so called opponents and justifies it by saying it is political. I dont want political in Mahwah. I want someone who cares about the people of this town. And what is with the envelop of a check to one of the council members for his re-election campaign that the Mayor gave. I do believe in being able to contribute to the candidate of your choice but have a REAL problem when the Mayor who needs the votes of the council to achieve his or her goals does it. It more them smells, it reeks of the smell of bad Sinoco gasoline. Dont allow 4 more years of what you have seen in 8 months. Vote him out.
Pete Malvasi
8:25 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
I'm from Ramsey so I apologize for not minding my own business. Im generally in favor of outsourcing muni services and a professional business case should be made here. One option many don't consider is current employees can go to work for the contractor and often do better altho state pension and med benefits are over the top Better than commerixal sector. This is part of our problem tho. That said, as a muni Board member here I've seen our Public Works team beat price and quality of commercial alternatives. Shining example is new library landscaping. We saved over 50% and got more and excellent service. The key is management and motivated employees. Big surprise. Same formula for successful business. If we start managing staff professionally and assume even low level employees want to do good work rather than assuming the opposite which many people take as a given for local govmt workers - better financial performance and value can be had. But good management at the top is essential. This doesnt happen by luck and sadly it's sorely lacking with many of our elected officials who can be petty and blatantly unqualified themselves. This is not veiled reference to any official in Majwah or Ramsey but generally there is lack of business management talent with many. This applies right our county and state "leaders".
JP
10:35 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
While I totally agree with most of what you are saying, I don't believe a government (whether local, state, or national) can be effectively run by a pure "business type" person. The dynamics of getting things done in a group "majority rules" type administration setup requires the very best of political savvy in getting things done "your way". It takes a great deal of political finesse and leadership to bring those who oppose you onto your side, whereas in business, it's just a matter of dictating down the chain your desired agendas. Something CEO are used to, making decisions on their own. That's why I laugh when I hear the mayor forming a "Blue Ribbon Panel" of (elite?) business experts in town to recommend budget cuts. It doesn't work that way. It's not just about the numbers, as our mayor is quickly finding out.
linda fardale
9:12 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
In order to save money, why not rein in on grass collection. In my neighborhood, most of the grass clippings are put out to the curb by landscapers unwilling to accept their responsbility to dispose of the clippings on the own.
JP
10:22 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
My landscape people are perfectly willing to take the clippings, but you, the customer have to pay a disposal fee since they end up paying for that because of town rules. Disposal of the clippings through the town is "free" for property owners, but not so for the commercial landscapers. I pay $8 or $9 each time for that. So just ask them if they do that, because if you don't specifically specify what you want done with the clipping, they will just leave them there. I don't know anyone servicing Mahwah who doesn't offer that for a fee.
hsr
10:26 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
Grass clippings can be mulched by machines used to cut and also the cost to pick up
isn't that great. We don't want to live in a town with poor services. As to the comment by the Ramsey resident, check the taxes in Ramsey as opposed to our taxes.
NJ Boomer
2:44 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Nobody likes to pay taxes but there is a certain level of service that our densely populated society requires, and expects, from our local government. The Mahwah Town Council is laboring under a 2% cap on taxes. Last night the Council voted down a proposition to layoff the recycling section of the DPW Department. It was a good decision. They are our friends and neighbors and their contribution to our quality of life is enormous. Last year the Council agreed to raise salaries 2½%. That broke the budget. In retrospect they admit that it was a bad idea. Someone mentioned asking them to give back ½%. We should. They should. Mahwah is in financial trouble. We get it. Now is the time for sacrifice or the Mahwah we love will become unrecognizable. How willing are we to watch Mahwah's quality of life be eroded further? The tax mandate says they cannot raise taxes. It does not say that we cannot come together as a community and pass the hat. People could donate what they can afford. I am proposing that we do that. Mr. Campion mentioned a necessary figure of a million dollars. In today’s economy that is a lot of money but I think we are up to the task. The mayor could donate the very prominent corner at his gas station for a billboard with an indicator of how much has been raised so far. It could be a real, old fashioned community effort and I truly believe that our community would come together, if only they were asked.
Gottardo DiGiacopo
5:26 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
NJ Bomber,
it's a noble thought you have and i hope you never give up on that belief in community. WTS, what exactly would we be contributing to? the budget shortfall? the surplus? two to four recycling DPW jobs? covering the shortfalls from the 2.5% salary increases. could you organize this idea to a presentable proposal, or do you know someone in town who could this? i imagine hearing a great many voicing their anger and mistrust, and a great many others (who want to help) never quite managing to write that check... i've seen this recently.
Gottardo DiGiacopo
5:34 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
What seems clear is that Mahwah is in a big mess at the moment... the salarie increase instituted by mayor dapuzzo has fastracked our significant fiscal shortfalls (we were probably the only town in america without a wage freeze in this recession). Council members who knew this hike was a bad idea should not have voted for it; just like council members who thought the recycling privitization was a good fix should have voted yes to it... i'm not saying it was good or done right in any way, but our council members need to act with conviction, as well as statesmanship. i don't know if all the "no"s were genuine; i suspect some were simply political.
What is particularly disappointing is how our blue panel experts went after only the bluest collars. mayor laforette, though bright and informed, has a knack for showing some 'class'less biases remarked on by a DPW worker who quoted his suggestion of 'living it up with an unemployment check and a fishing pole'. to top it all off the Mayor and Roth had their vaudeville slap-fight: "he said this, and you closed both doors (one of which should've been opened!), and you called me a fulkner, yada yada. there's serious work to be done people... let's get busy!
NJ Boomer
5:48 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Mr. DiGiacopo, This is a grass roots concept and yes, at the moment disorganized. It was conceived last night after Mr. Spiech's eloquent speech about the Township's finances. Please join me in developing it into a cohesive plan. Mr. Campion and Mr. Fede would have to advise on where the contributions would be directed, or even whether this idea would legally fly. I am just sick of the concept that we must cut, cut, cut and outsource our very souls to meet some mythical, arbitrary budget number set by our esteemed, politically motivated governor. I am tired of my quality of life being compromised by someone else's political agenda and/or aspirations. I think it is time for our citizens to band together and say enough. This is our community, we want excellance and we are willing to work to achieve it. Pollyanna? Perhaps. Naive, most certainly but I am betting that I am not alone. I welcome your input and ideas.
Andy Schmidt
6:22 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Gottardo,
I'm perfectly at ease with whichever way that was decided. But I do agree that the justifications cited gave me reason to pause:
"A number of council members expressed trepidation with the plan, suggesting the decision should be held off until the financial situation could be analyzed further..."
They just finalized the budget a few months ago - so the financial situation is quite clear; and it won't be any different 2 months from now when everyone will be working on the next budget. What it really means is "how dare you expect me to make a difficult decision in my election year - let's do this NEXT Spring when voters will have 3 years to forget."
After having studied the every single figure thoroughly for 2+ weeks (and the infamous close door meeting <G>) to discover any specific errors/faults, there was only a generic: "How could those numbers be realistic? I don't think this math is right and I don't think the savings are real." In other words - they didn't manage to find anything actually wrong with the figures (otherwise they'd would prove it), but "I'm gainst it out of principal, because you own a domain name I don't need!" ;-)
In any case, I'm glad some decision has been made and attention can turn to other matters - but after the lack of substance I have the gut feeling that this will resurface rather sooner than later.
JP
10:41 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Ummmm, NJ Boomer, Mahwah isn't in financial trouble at all. What in the world makes you think that? We have an excellent bond rating, and millions of dollars in reserve. Our town has been picked to be the center of a new mall that will increase cash flow in the area, increase revenue, and increase our stature. New jobs will be created in town. We are in good shape coming out of this recession. You should admire that fact.
JP
10:45 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Gottardo, not being in a wage freeze was a GOOD thing. It indicates our healthy position when others were failing. The 2% cap on taxes is all political as dictated by Gov Chris Christie, a staunch Republican. It's a "starve the beast" attempt as our mayor so often mentions it is. There's no other reason for the 2% cap. Let's be real here.
Gottardo DiGiacopo
11:16 am on Saturday, August 11, 2012
NJ Boomer, you mistakenly thought i was speaking to you when i cleary addressed JP. no biggie, we all make mistakes. i personally am wrong about half of the time though i do spell my name right always. all these initials and acronyms are tough to keep track of, i'll bet even for the people who own them. and i'm thinkin maybe we all get on Patch a little too puffed-up. we should cool it a bit, and keep it about issues.
BTW Christie is a windbag megalomaniac... but we Dems got some pretty shabby political NJ history ourselves. It's all good brother!
JP
4:59 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
Although I do agree with some of what Christie wants (like Sunday shopping in Bergen County and finishing the American Dream Meadowlands) I didn't vote for Chris Cristie, Gottardo. I can't stand the guy. He reminds me of Bobby Baccalieri from the Sopranos.
Mark R. Gregorek
4:35 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
≈
ref
4:35 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Hey Mr. Mayor,keep listening to other people,see where it gotten you so far,the citizens of Mahwah know whats best for the town and the people you are listening to only care if it best for them.Can't wait until November to say thanks for the memory and have a new mayor that has some integrity and doesn't hide behind a"Blue ribbon commitee".
NJ Boomer
5:05 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Hey, ref
I could not agree more. The man has a God complex. He bought the domain names of his competitors and tried to limit signage on public property - so his sign on the corner of Franklin Tpk and Miller Road will be prominent? Was the DPW debacle because the head of DPW is running against him for mayor? Why is he fighting with Councilman Roth? We all need to work to defeat him because his view of Mahwah does not reflect ours and his behavior is not that of someone we want representing us. He is a disaster.
Andy Schmidt
6:33 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
>> Was the DPW debacle because the head of DPW is running against him for mayor?<<
Timing was completely reversed. This was being looked at by the business administrator, and quotes being solicited, in the very early Spring long before anyone (other than possibly Mr. Sinclair himself) knew that he'd be running for Mayor.
So if there was ANY cause and effect (and I do NOT know or even imply that there was), then it would be the exactly the opposite...
Mark Case
6:26 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Time to Outsource Mayor Laforet.
He has trashed OZ!
We the People Want our Small Town Community Back.
Harmony NOT Harassment.
NJ Boomer count me in, Not sure Patch is best palce to get it done. If you call Mr. Campion you might get a letter! LOL If you call Mr. Fede you'll get a bill. :(
NDW
6:53 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Andy, Get your facts straight. I'll spare you the link posting, but Keith Hallsiey is the head of DPW and if he is running for Mayor you insider information. Your last post was light on the usual pontification with a heavier does of incoherence. Face it your buddy the Mayor was outed as a dirt bag! If you want to defend that have at it!
Andy Schmidt
10:53 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
@NDW ? Never mentioned Keith Hallsiey!?
Maybe you're confusing me with NJ Boomer - he is the one who said "...the head of DPW is running against him for mayor"? I simply RESPONDED to that.
Need a link - here it is:
http://mahwah.patch.com/articles/dpw-superintendent-plans-run-for-mayor
Anyway - I hope you'll feel better soon.
LHart
7:19 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Patch Poll (Unofficial) 66% Council was right 33% Mayor was right. Sleep well Mayor but clearly this community is not with you. Back to the Zoning Bd you caused less trouble there>
ref
8:33 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Mr. Schmidt go to your room
WhoCares; Mahwah
11:19 am on Saturday, August 11, 2012
For those that are really interested, here is the link to the town's 2012 Budget Analysis.
http://www.mahwahtwp.org/Documents/BUDGET%20ANALYSIS%20-%202012.pdf
WhoCares; Mahwah
11:30 am on Saturday, August 11, 2012
From the 2012 proposed spending budget. Our Public Safety department expenses are $8,094,399. Our Public Works department expenses are $2,714,337. Our total departmental proposed expense budget is $15,061,249. This seems to indicate that the Public Safety department makes up 53% of our departmental expenses.
Q
1:38 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
Thanks for posting the budget link. It a start but so vague. Is there a detailed version, that breaks down the source for numbers, esp. the millions allocated for "other"? I plan to attend the budget meetings they encouraged us to, but right now I would like to be on a citizens shirtsleeve panel with access to the numbers like a few of you have mentioned.
Concerned Parent/Taxpayer
4:38 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
The most interesting item I see in the budget is that the police budget is $5 million and the town collects only $375,000 in ticket revenue. This number is down by about 50% since they stopped overtime for cops for showing up to court. If we take $5 million and divide that by 31 patrolmen ( just a guess) and divide that by 340 days (just to have a cushion). It comes out to $475 a day. I think this is a manageable number for each patrolman per day. A decent speeding ticket gets to that number pretty easily. Just imagine the possibilities if we can offset the cost of the police department and the town could have those monies to get back to providing actual services to the residents.
Mark
1:25 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
They didn't cut the overtime. Its back.
Mahwah Resident
7:49 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
Hey, where is "Hank" in all this? Hank, are you on vacation?
Hank
8:37 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
I screwed up.
I thought for sure they would vote the other way.
Anyone want to buy a snowplow?
WhoCares; Mahwah
8:54 am on Monday, August 13, 2012
Link to recording of the meeting below. There is a very disappointing exchange where one of the audience attendees inappropriately and persistently heckles one of our citizens who is addressing the Town Council at the microphone. The real disappointment is that this inappropriate conduct comes from someone trying to run for a council seat. Goto 1:38 (1 hour 38 minutes in).
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5872067/MahwahMall-audio/8-9-12-PB/12080901.MP3
Ralph
11:17 am on Sunday, August 12, 2012
For clarity can you name the person who was doing the heckleing so we all know who not to vote for if indeed this person is actually running for a council seat? If this was a person running for council, this behavior should not be accepted and this person should not run for council because he cannot act professionally as expected.
Mark
1:28 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
I believe it was Dan Weixeldorfer.
Ralph
1:56 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
Is this true Mr Weixeldorfer. You have been on the Patch before. Can you explain your actions?
ref
2:13 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
Come on fess up if it was you Ronda H I mean Dan, we all know of your tactics if it was you who was heckler have a pair and admit it, just saying
WhoCares; Mahwah
10:59 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5872067/MahwahMall-audio/8-9-12-PB/12080901.MP3
T-Bird 148
2:53 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
@Concerned Parent/Taxpayer - interesting idea ... but the term "ticket quota" comes to mind.
lori dorie
7:35 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
awww, excuse me BUT, where are all the comments about Mr. Wexeldorfer (yea, I know I spelled his name wrong but you know who I'm takling about)who is running for the council who was heckling some of the people who got up to speak at the council meeting Thurs. night????? This is a fact that he was doing this because I was there and I HEARD him do this and you can go on the website, stopmahwahmall.com, and listen to the recording for the Town Council Meeting. I think it's at 1hr and 37min. This is a disgrace and this man who is running for public office in our town should be ashamed of himself and the person who took this off patch should also be ashamed. The people have a right to know and if this gets taken offf I will re-post!!!!!
Hank
8:12 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
I wonder why they took it off. I started listening from 1:00 on and was riveted. We have some really smart people in Mahwah.
If someone wants to repost please do
Actually the guy who spoke at 1:05 is worth the price of admission. I never met him or know who he is but he is a real treasure.
lori dorie
8:34 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
Think about it Hank......Who is supporting this guy that is running for a seat on our council. It's not that hard to figure out. Both he and his wife were out of line. People have the right to go up to that microphone and say whatever they need to say and should not be called an a--hole because you don't like what they are saying ESPECIALLY by someone running for a council seat. Really disgraceful!
NDW
8:49 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
Who Cares; Mahwah shared a link.
11 hours ago.
Link to recording of the meeting below. There is a very disappointing exchange where one of the audience attendees inappropriately and persistently heckles one of our citizens who is addressing the Town Council at the microphone. The real d
isappointment is that this inappropriate conduct comes from someone trying to run for a council seat. Goto 1:38 (1 hour 38 minutes in).
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5872067/MahwahMall-audio/8-9-12-PB/12080901.MP3
No Title
Unknown Artist - Unknown Album
NDW
8:59 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
Dan/ Rhonda H et el keep trying to pull the Weixelgate tape off th the Patch. Nice try Dan you're outed again bozo. Bily's boy should not be allowed on the Council! Take the tape down all you want, phones ringing all over Mahwah about it.
WhoCares; Mahwah
10:58 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
Stop the Mall recording of Thursday's Town Council proceedings. Go to 1hour 38 minutes, then play.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5872067/MahwahMall-audio/8-9-12-PB/12080901.MP3
Tom Troncone
8:18 pm on Monday, August 13, 2012
I made the decision this morning to close commenting on this article because I felt the comments had devolved into personal attacks that violated our terms of service. Closing comments on a story is at our discretion.
I've turned comments back on for this story and hopefully everyone has had a chance to simmer down a bit. But a warning, further comments on this thread that violate our terms of service will be met with account suspensions.
In other words, let's keep the discourse going, but let's also keep it civil. Thanks. Any questions, please feel free to email me at tom.troncone@patch.com.
NDW
8:15 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Seems like you want the news and views but on your terms. Civility in discourse is always respected but public officials caught red handed behaving badly are fair game. Why not run a poll on that?
Ralph
12:59 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Mr. Troncone, I understand your position to close the commenting on this article based on the attacks being said by some of the people responding, however, comments being made and verified by many should become newsworthy on the Patch. Many Mahwah residents read these articles and need to be educated on what is going on in town. The Patch does a good job usually in doing so however I think you missed the boat in not running with the story of an incident involving a member of the public and another menber of the public who is asking the voters of Mahwah to elect him to a council seat. Surely in your research you would see that this story should be explored. Mr Weixeldorfer, Mr. Hermansen and others who witnessed the incident should be interviewed and an article should be written about what happened that night at the council meeting. The Patch has an obligation to report stories that will have a lasting impact in our town. Your thoughts?
ref
7:48 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Mr.and Mrs. Weixeldopher,if these allegations are true you should at least issue an apology to the person you were heckling,if they are not true then lets hear from you to the contrary.
joseph j guider
8:28 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Sometimes even good ideas outlive their usefulness? The WPA (works projects administrtion) initiated and implimented by FDR back around '37/'38 to boost the national economy and help with the build up to WW2 defense's was eventually discontinued after the war and left to be renamed DPW funded entirely by local govt. It was more useful to FDR because he need the support from the south, electorially. Basically it was a patronage thing for the Politicians.
Gottardo DiGiacopo
4:38 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Joe J Guider,
respectfully, i'm guessing your opening question was rhetorical... what confuses me a bit is the history lesson that follows. though inspired by some of the facts of that time does it/you believe that's the whole story? And my larger question is: do your last two historical tid-bits (in the aura of your opening question) imply that the WPA as well as the DPW had/have no lasting merit? is today's/our DPW a political hand-out? Is our belief in cleared roads and trash removal a naive submission to propoganda and the status-quo? i'm confused.
JP
4:38 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The WPA existed from 1935 to 1943 to alleviate the joblessness of the Great Depression and ended when the productivity boom of WWII was in full swing and it wasn't necessary anymore. Large towns in America have had formal DPW's since the mid 1800's when many were established to help in sanitation after the major cholera outbreak back then. I would venture to speculate that DPW's, in some form or another, existed from the establishment of the first permanent colony in the USA.
John Ebanietti
5:14 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
If there was any doubt in my mind as to who would get my vote in the upcoming Mayoral election this fall my mind is now clear after reading page 4 of todays Suburban News. I will not be voting fro Bill Laforet!!
NJ Boomer
10:29 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
The chutzpah of our mayor is breath taking. Does he really think he can (or should) override the vote of the town council. Does he really think he's God? It is juvenile and very unprofessional. You lost, Mr. Mayor. Get over it and live to fight another day. It's called politics
NDW
5:52 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
John E, We're running the Town by press release. The utter disregard for elected officials is astonishing. He is incabable of convincing the Town Council so he is trying to buy his way into public opinion. Hope all the people from ADPP are happy with the way their contributions are being spent. This should not be the way of the future.
ref
10:29 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
Wow,the article on page four of the SUBURBAN news is a real eye opener,Im sure
the author was not the mayor,because mahwah's mayor would not stoop that low to insult the intelligence of the people in our town and the people that do the hard work for our town. You Mr. Mayor had very little to do with the1.75 % tax increase so why are you willing to take the credit for it,there are a lot of other avenue's to explore before you try and badger the public with your asault on the DPW,there are a few departments that you have not explored with your amazed Blue ribbon committee,I will not broach that avenue now but please don't think your childish behavior is going to get you anywhere. This study that you mention that was"hidden" from the public,I do believe Mr. Alderiso was on that council why didn't he bring it out in the open? One more thing sir you are not my Mayor you are the Mayor of Mahwah,I did not vote for you nor will I vote for you in the future
JP
10:29 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
Like I said before, when you have government run by a businessman and a panel of "Blue Ribbon" business owners (*eye roll*) this is what you get. They are a numbers only group of right leaning, tax and spending cutters. There is so much more to running a town then just cutting taxes. The mayor mentioned today an $83,000 salary and benefit package for a DPW employee, trying to now divide the citizens into two sides over how much money and benefits they get and to put our council members in bad light. I say GOOD for the DPW workers and more power to them.
william edgar
3:41 pm on Saturday, August 18, 2012
got to go. agree with the council's decision. I'm glad an election is coming up- the current mayor has got to go.
Mark Case
5:30 pm on Saturday, August 18, 2012
None of the guys the Mayor was firing made $83,000/year. They didn't show the numbers "too hard" so we get fed lies!
JP
5:13 am on Sunday, August 19, 2012
It's salary plus benefits, not just salary, so that figure is reasonable and believable. (Not that they don't deserve more then that though)
NDW
5:43 pm on Saturday, August 18, 2012
Was it the right decision to keep Mahwah's recycling a part of the township DPW?
Yes, the council made the right decision 69%
No, the council should have outsourced recycling 30%
Total votes: 68
Not even close!