Where do you see any rush?
"Over the PAST FEW MONTHS, township administration has put out several bids for private recycling companies to pick up Mahwah’s recycling."

Ethel, I disagree with you,If the DPW employees at least try to fix the pot holes that is fine with me.They do the best that they can to try and fix the potholes, some of them are not perfect but they are better. I know most of the guys on the DPW and all of them work very hard for there money.

Come on. These guys work hard. It's the material they are given not their workmanship!

It's amazing that residents will accept subpar quality. I work hard too but if I don't perform at my job or the quality of my work isn't up to par, I won't have a job too much longer. What kind of world are we living in these days? This is the "Everyone gets a trophy" mentality.

and then what do you want,this "mayor " wants to private or get rid of recycling,and ambulance in mahwah he want to hire private ambulance and private the recycling DPW this is wrong on any way u look up it,if anyone have questions about how private ambulance and recycling works ask.this is acceptable on any way mr. laforet is whrong all the way,we all have to go Mahwah council meeting when and what tiime.

Armando,
"get rid of ... ambulance in mahwah he want to hire private ambulance"
Why not stick to the truth?

HERE is what was ACTUALLY proposed back in March:

"Business Administrator Brian Campion explained that the township is “looking into multiple proposals and models, but all of them anticipate that both volunteer squads will remain in existence.” According to Campion, the administration is considering a system in which a dispatcher’s first two calls during an emergency situation would go to Mahwah’s volunteer squad. If they didn’t answer or couldn’t respond, the third call would go to a third party, private service."

ONLY IF the volunteers didn't answer or couldn't respond to a particular call THEN THAT one call would go to a paid service!

That's funny, I recently had an issue were the DPW refused to take my cardboard so I have to at ke care of I myself. It sat tha for weeks while itried to figure ou why I was not being picked up. If he DPW really cared abou this town, they would pick up any ugly cardboard laying on our streets.

Lets also not forget how long I took to pick up the branches from the October storm. I think a private ompany would have been a little more efficient

Concerned parent/taxpayer,

Please don't let one isolated incident spoil the great reputation of the DPW. Did you call and ask why they didn't pick it up? There may be some town policies that regulate the pickup. They do try to make exceptions but they also have to be careful not to play favorites and to follow the rules they are given. Follow up. you may be surprised how helpful they can be.

You know how I would have handled it, due to my love for this town, I wouldn't want ugly cardboard sitting on the side of any road in my town. If I were a DPW worker, I would have picked up the cardboard and gave the homeowner a copy of the all important recycling regulations. That would have been wonderful customer service, since all in all, we are customers of all the departments in town.

Roger

Finally someone calls out th schools. It's about time. Why snt there full time Kindergarten?

NO WAY!

Ronda H hiding under a rock. But her brother Randy H is covering for her. Same bad grammar and spelling and amazingly thoughtless postings. Give it up Dan.

Andy,
You ask a valid question. One that each citizen must ponder. But we also have to consider balance. Quality V. Savings (as you state below). And we have to look at where else money can be saved. Why do towns always look to reduce the number of fairly low paid workers yet continue to spend as if the well was bottomless in other areas.

I see - another one evading the question <G>.

So, what then if his "personal agenda" is to fulfill his duty as mayor to juggle limited funds, residents demanding low (or even lower) taxes, state-imposed budget caps,...?

Look, I've always said that I gladly accept higher property taxes to pay for excellent services and have Mahwah looked at as a desirable town for home-buyers (which reflects in my real-estate values). But - very many others like to waste that same money on ring-tones, iTunes downloads, move tickets, Starbucks visits,... instead. Like it or not, the township has to deal with those realities.

And I was fooled into believing he was not Republican. I should have known better.

Andy, with over 5 million in surplus sitting in the town's account this is definitely less about limited funding and more about political brownie points. I can understand keeping taxes down, but how about we then don't talk about putting up a huge ornamental clock at the train station for who knows how many thousands of dollars, quarter million dollar staircases at the library, expensive changes to town square that really didn't change it functionally or architecturally that much, and we let people keep their jobs instead?

Gosh, JP, where's your mind at?
The library construction is NOT controlled by the township OR the current mayor (as it was done two mayors ago). That's the library board - and you need to bark up the correct tree: the state, who requires the township to pay a GIVEN amount to the library board for them to spend, even if the township disagress with how the money is used!

One reason for the surplus is that the township needs to pay its bills every month, even if the property tax payment have not yet come in. Secondly, when you make a budget, you can't be certain what amount of property taxes may not be paid, or may be challenged - so you need to set aside cash to cover for that. Finally, a township (like any responsible individual) will have to keep an amount set aside in case there should be a major unforeseen event that simply can't be planned for budgeted for.

The rating agencies who assigned Mahwah their HIGH credit rating, are looking at how responsible the township maintains its surplus - which allows the township to refinance at BETTER rates - thus saving real interest dollars.

(You are arguing like a family member who sees the statement in their family's savings, 401K, IRA, or HSA account - and decides to waste that money in a spending spree.)

So let me ask this Andy, you willing to personally hand out the pink slips to those DPW workers who are going to get nuked if the mayor has his way? We HAVE the tax money to keep these people. We're not Scranton, PA. This is all about bragging about how low an increase in taxes the mayor has during his term.

BTW, can Patch please find out the answer to my question? How much is recycling generating in revenue and where does it go if we switch to a private company?

Part of my job of runnnig a company has been handing out pink slips personally. We try to take care of our staff, but there would be no jobs for anyone, if I wouldn't consider economics.

>> We HAVE the tax money to keep these people <<

No we HAD(!) the money THIS year. But we have to plan ahead for the coming year and subsequent years when various costs will rise MORE than 2%, but taxes increases are LIMITED to 2%. So you are constantly looking at the various functions and services and try find more cost-effective ways -- that precisely is the job of the person at the top!

Specially when upcoming retirements and open positions would require NEW hiring in the next 12 months. That is the right time to give the council options on whether things can be organized differently.

Andy, I'm not sure you are getting the concept of this being done for political reason. You say you saw the mayor's email today, did you not see the pomp about being under the 2%? That's his whole big thing about this. He equates (what he thinks) his whole success is on keeping the taxes under 2% increase. You yourself, in another thread, justified to me the 26% tax increase a few years ago didn't you? Which side are you really on? The contrary side of whatever the issue is?

I'll gladly refresh your memory from time to time, JP: I personally will rather forego splurging on some unnecessary items and pay my share of higher municpal/school taxes - because I see it as an investment into my town, which will help maintain property values.

But, the state wants to micro-manage the townships and thus prevents residents from making such a choice. They imposed the 2% cap that all administrations of all townships have to limit themselves to, by making cuts to accomodate external costs that rise faster than those 2%.

You need to stop constantly barking up the wrong trees. If you are talking about the library, it's the state and the library board, if you are talking about schools, it's the school board, if you are talking about having to make changes to stay within the arbitrary 2%, then it's the state.

Pick your tree! The township has no choice but to follow the law.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzcjlKCJDnU

Now I can't get this song out of my head. :(

Great work outing that slimeball! lollolol! Incompetent language capabilities are like a finger print. Well done!

Not only left the room, but took all of her, or should I say, his posts with him. Pathetic attempt to cover ones tracks. Every "Ronda H" post removed after Dan was outed. No boy scout is he.

Miss Crabtree, remember this, it was a good one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dmHXs2QfEw

Very well said MB.

Not true 3 WILL lose there jobs one MAY come back in January IF anyone retires.
You should get all the information before you say anything about hot air. If you still think what has been said is misinformation I suggest you go to the meeting tonight and ask the mayor himself

Even one is TOO many Andy. You want to hand that person their slip? Come on, do it for the mayor. Volunteer your services.

Uh, so first it was DEFINITELY 7, now it's DEFINITELY 3, but by January it's 2...
'nuf said.

Enough said? No, there's definitely not enough said yet.

This actually has been widely reported in the past weeks, e.g.:

>> municipal staff, including Township Administrator Brian Campion and Department of Public Works Superintendent Keith Hallisey, began looking at privatizing recycling collection in December. DPW union representatives were brought into the conversation about three months ago <<
>> Two others were told when they were hired this spring that their jobs could be eliminated because of the township’s interest in outsourcing recycling collection <<

http://www.northjersey.com/mahwah/Mahwah_council_to_hear_plans_on_outsourcing_recyclables_pickup.html

So the union, the employees effected and the DPW supervisor were made aware for quite some time, as was the council. Obvioulsy, other than knowing of the ongoing effort to come up with a proposal, the council can't discuss any proposal until you actually HAVE one (with actual dollar figures). Only THEN can the council can weigh all the pros and cons now and discuss this in earnest.