Trenton Shorting Ridgewood, Officials Say

The state owes us, municipal and school government leaders in Ridgewood said Monday at a joint budget meeting.

Ridgewood Superintendent Dan Fishbein and business administrator Angelo DeSimone highlighted the proposed $91.2 million 2013-2014 budget to the council.

The budget checks in at a 2 percent increase over the prior year and would increase taxes $203.63 for the average homeowner. No layoffs or programming cuts are in the cards.

Although the council has made no secret of its interest to hit a zero percent tax increase (which appears increasingly unlikely), there was no discussion of the school board's own half-hearted flirtation with a zero'd budget.

Instead, the focus of the discussion turned to bigger fish – Trenton. 

Ridgewood has lost about $1 million in state aid over the last few years, Fishbein said. Given the amount of taxes Ridgewood residents pay ($70 million annually in income taxes), it only receives about $6 million in aid. If state aid distribution were proportionate to taxes collected, the district would receive $45 million, added board member Vince Loncto.

It's a similar problem at the council, according to Village Manager Ken Gabbert. The state hasn't delivered the promised aid levels in years, he said.

"All the residents would be in much better shape if we received the allocation at both the board of education and the council," Councilwoman Gwenn Hauck said.

There has been an effort for "fair school funding" by Morris County legislator Michael Doherty, but state Supreme Court rulings make it unlikely to supplant current law.

In the meantime, Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn said the two local entities should explore shared service agreements to keep the tax level low.

"It's a challenge, it's a balancing act," Aronsohn said. "We feel your pain."

The Ridgewood school budget will be decided by voters on Tuesday, April 16.