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MHD
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 4263
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 11:14 am: | 
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Not sure how I missed this issue when it was discussed, but I was just reviewing some of the recently posted BOT Meeting Minutes & came across the following proposal from May 8, 2006 to have residents bag leaves:
http://www.southorange.org/minutes/2006/05-08-06CA.pdf
11. Leaf Collection (Bags/No Bags) – Trustee Rosner noted that the Finance Committee
recommended that residents bag their leaves. He further noted that this recommendation
should be discussed at a public meeting. He explained that the CFO had advised the Board
that there would be a savings of $80,000/year if residents bagged their leaves. This amounts
to approximately $15/household. Trustee Rosner asserted that it will cost each household far
more than $15 to purchase bags or to have landscapers haul the leaves away. He further
asserted that the public has to be fully informed as to what is involved before this is instituted
as a budget saver. Trustee Taylor concurred. Village President Calabrese concurred but
noted that the County requires residents who live on County roads to bag their leaves. He
asserted that this is unfair to those residents. Trustee Rosner acknowledged that there are
safety issues if leaves are left on the street, but strictly from a financial standpoint he does
not see a savings by requiring residents to bag their leaves. He asserted that if this is in the
budget, he will vote against the entire budget. The entire Board agreed not to institute the
leaf bagging program this year.
Nice job, Mark! Thank you.
I also was reading the Minutes from the latest Budget Workshop and seeing some of the other rather minor suggestions for "cost savings": http://www.southorange.org/minutes/2006/05-03-06sm.pdf
If anyone is serious about really saving money, why no discussion of reviewing the incredibly generous compensation packages for the Village Attorney & Village Administrator? (not to mention Tau, as well)
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Hillsider
Supporter
Username: Hillsider
Post Number: 73
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 11:52 am: |
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Sensible thinking by Mr. Rosner...
Wish all village fiscal decisions were made this way...
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SO1969
Citizen
Username: Bklyn1969
Post Number: 351
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 12:17 pm: |
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Just how generous is the Village Attorney comp?
I've seen the Administrator's comp posted before (I think it was about $175K - pretty fancy for a public official in a community of 16,000 with a budget of $25mm). Anyone have any sense of how that compares with other NJ municipalities? It is more than you make as a U.S. Congressman.
p.s. Further kudos to Rosner's reasoning. Thanks, Mark. |
Doc Daneeka
Citizen
Username: Mattfoley
Post Number: 693
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 1:50 pm: |
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Mr.Rosner- I will loudly praise you as I rake the leaves into the street this fall! |
susan1014
Supporter
Username: Susan1014
Post Number: 1614
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 2:25 pm: |
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We will do the same -- this is definitely a service worth leaving in the budget! |
Steve Hickson
Citizen
Username: Shickson
Post Number: 39
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 3:36 pm: |
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MHD,
Thanks for this post---and bravo to Rosner for this one.
I have a monster maple tree in my backyard that produces a gazillion cubic feet of leaves each foliage season---I have a pretty good system that involves a combination of leaf blower, traditional rake, tarp, and finally drag to the street---a pretty mundane, yet manageable process. The thought of bagging leaves scares the crap out of me as I'm sure it does others in South Orange. If we're forced to bag, my house goes up for sale, that's a promise.
Here's a thought for the trustees---if we're looking to save 15 bux a household, let's bag TAU not leaves----hey, that's a pretty nice line---BAG TAU, NOT LEAVES! (only an ad man could come up with that one).
What's next? Will we have to shrink wrap our quarterly tax payments? Hopefully, this leaf issue will simply blow away. |
MHD
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 4265
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 3:45 pm: |
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LOL, Steve!
Note to people who complain that there is never anything positive said here about South Orange - 1) we enjoy our leaf pickup and 2) we give credit to Trustees when they do the right thing on behalf of the residents.  |
Cali6buff
Citizen
Username: Cali6buff
Post Number: 32
Registered: 4-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 5:02 pm: |
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.....and complain about Tau in the same breath.
I guess a 50/50 split is the most we "positives" could possibly hope for.
"Rosner Reasoning" is the net big thing. It seems to have a lot of power and make a lot of sense.
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Spitz
Supporter
Username: Doublea
Post Number: 1809
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 6:21 pm: |
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ROSNER, ROSNER, HE'S OUR MAN. IF HE CAN'T DO, NOBODY CAN! (I got a little carried away.)
Mark has always been there to respond to questions raised by MOLers. He is a stand-up guy and has stayed in there, when others have opted to take leave of MOL. He really deserves a lot of credit for trying to answer resdients concerns online, and is actually willing to listen (most of the time) when posters have been able to convince him that their position or reasoning makes sense. I think what distinquishes Mark is that he really enjoys participating online, and is willing to argue his case when he feels strongly.
You really have to admire the fact that when a resident has a question about the Village, they receive almost a instant response (if Mark is in town). My guess is that this is the only town in the U.S. where one gets instat feedback from an elected official. Thanks Mark. |
Sheena Collum SHU
Citizen
Username: Sheena_collum
Post Number: 722
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 8:51 am: |
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I concur with all of the above  .
Nice Job Trustee Rosner! Are you going to chime in and make a speech or something? |
Sheena Collum SHU
Citizen
Username: Sheena_collum
Post Number: 724
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 9:41 am: |
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Hmmm MHD... you're not a conformist are you? I never thought you'd be a lackey for the BOT... has the machine gotten a hold of you? What are your motives for this thread... ?
Am I Funny yet? |
SOrising
Citizen
Username: Sorising
Post Number: 431
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 9:54 am: |
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SO1969, is the $175K for the Village Administrator total compensation or just salary? Just double checking.
Anyone know what the village counsel's price is? |
mrosner
Citizen
Username: Mrosner
Post Number: 2837
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 10:08 am: |
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Sheena: No speeches.
thanks to everyone for the kind words. I just hope I get a chance to continue after the next election to try and do my part to make S. Orange better.
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MHD
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 4268
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 10:14 am: |
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Wow...is this a MOL exclusive...an "official" announcement of a re-election bid?
P.S. Sheena - yes you are funny! BTW...I was at the Neighborhood Meeting last night & told Calabrese they did a good job with Sloan Street (neglecting to mention that was 10 years ago).
Hey...maybe I am just a lackey for them, after all? 
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Sheena Collum SHU
Citizen
Username: Sheena_collum
Post Number: 725
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 10:18 am: |
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You'll continue... don't 'leave' us... |
Bob K
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 11906
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 10:57 am: |
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I thought the leave bagging regulations were a madate from either the County or the Joint Meeting to keep the leaves out of the sewer systems. Not the case? |
Mike Matterly
Citizen
Username: Ittakesavillage
Post Number: 59
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 11:21 am: |
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Mark - I thank you. My "train wife" thanks you. Continue your efforts!
MM |
Jersey girl
Citizen
Username: Critterlover
Post Number: 67
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 12:22 pm: |
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Thank you, Trustee Rosner ! Good job!
And thank you for sharing from the minutes, MHD, so we can give credit where credit is due.
Jersey girl |
SO1969
Citizen
Username: Bklyn1969
Post Number: 352
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 2:55 pm: |
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I'll leave the salary quotes to fact based posters - MHD or Howard Levison?
My recollection - which is occasionally faulty - was that his salary - just salary - for all of his positions combined(CFO, Administrator, etc.) was in the $175K camp.
I too am curious about the Village Counsel' comp. Anyone? |
MHD
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 4272
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:16 pm: |
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SO1969,
From a post from Dan Goldberg last year for John Gross:
Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 11:58 am:
Breakdown:
Admin. Pos.: 2004 $122,534, 2005 $30,368
Treasurer Pos.: 2004 $16,305, 2005 $5,000
CFO Pos.: 2004 $6,988, 2005 $116,474
Civ. OEM Pos.: 2004 $5,202, 2005 $5,416
Total: 2004 $151K, 2005 $157K
However, that does not account for things like a Car, Lifetime Health Benefits, Pension and who knows what else in his "package".
Good question about the Village Attorney's compensation. Anyone?
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Sheena Collum SHU
Citizen
Username: Sheena_collum
Post Number: 726
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:33 pm: |
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MHD - to be fair - when you have someone who is 'able and willing' to complete two/three positions - you save A LOT of money. What is normally two or three salaries is now one with a stipend on top.
Whether you agree or disagree on whether that one person can handle two or three positions is your opinion but from a financial standpoint, it saves the village money... |
talk-it-up
Citizen
Username: Talkitup
Post Number: 247
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:39 pm: |
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In reference to voting - perhaps an answer -
Rosner great job on leaf bagging but a question please
Did you vote "yes" or "no" to the village Administrator's Compensation Package?
Did you vote "yes" or "no" to accept Tau, dismantle the gazebo, demo the fountain and spend the tax dollars everyone has been concerned with?
In reference to conflict of interest did you ever bring up the issue of a former Trustee voting on her future husband's compensation package that would also benefit this former trustee? Did anyone ask that it be brought before the Board of Ethics?? (Did the Village Attorney, so versed in the Village President's conflicts of interest ever bring it up?
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MHD
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 4273
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:43 pm: |
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Sheena,
Fair enough, but by the same token it also tremendously increases RISK by not having any checks and balances on the financial oversight of the Village.
Talk - while your questions may be valid, I don't think they are relevent to this thread. I certainly do not agree with Mark on MANY issues, but on the leaf bagging, I think we all agree he got it right. |
Soparents
Citizen
Username: Soparents
Post Number: 1385
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:45 pm: |
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MHD, are you sure those figures are correct?
Admin. Pos.: 2004 $122,534, 2005 $30,368
Treasurer Pos.: 2004 $16,305, 2005 $5,000
CFO Pos.: 2004 $6,988, 2005 $116,474
Civ. OEM Pos.: 2004 $5,202, 2005 $5,416
Total: 2004 $151K, 2005 $157K
2005 admin DOWN to 30K from 122K in 2004
Treasurer DOWN to 5K from 16K in 2004
CFO UP to 116K from 7K in 2004...
It seems like a lot has be taken from other positions and put into the CFO position, why would this be?
As said, are you sure of the figures? |
Dave
Supporter
Username: Dave
Post Number: 9950
Registered: 4-1997
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:47 pm: |
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I'd be happy to pay more for two people doing their jobs well and accomplishing something than save some money and have someone so overburdened that nothing gets done well. |
MHD
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 4274
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:49 pm: |
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SOP,
Read the following thread from the top:
http://www.southorangevillage.com/cgi-bin/show.cgi?tpc=3133&post=339775#POST3397 75
I know you weren't on MOL back then, but you will be shocked at what transpired. |
Sheena Collum SHU
Citizen
Username: Sheena_collum
Post Number: 727
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:52 pm: |
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Soparents - very good observation.
The CFO is the 'tenured' position.
You may want to check MOL archives - I think there was a whole thread on this before. |
Sheena Collum SHU
Citizen
Username: Sheena_collum
Post Number: 728
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:53 pm: |
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gosh darnit MHD - stop posting when I am! |
bets
Supporter
Username: Bets
Post Number: 23358
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, June 23, 2006 - 12:09 am: |
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Here is some interesting reading about whence that occurred:
/discus/messages/3133/77213.html?1117816214
Sorry, I can't find the exact thread. Just reading the posts from last year (which pretty much mirror the posts of today) is entertaining enough. Pretty much, the VP and BOT thought they may possibly not see their chosen ones win the election, so they voted on a resolution in which J.O. Gross's position was "transitioned" from Village Administrator to Treasurer (one of the many hats he was already wearing) which gives him incontrovertible benefits for life.
Quote:let's bag TAU not leaves----hey, that's a pretty nice line---BAG TAU, NOT LEAVES
Or we could Tau-bag the BOT and leaf!
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