To the editor:
I am a 45-year resident of Hillsdale, a senior citizen, and former mayor. I probably know as much about the town finances as anyone. I agree that it is time for the checks and balances that Hillsdale Council member Abby Lundy has recently advocated. The best way to do this is to put new people, preferably a bipartisan group, on the council to control their irresponsible actions and spending.
In the last year the council has refused to approve any of the mayor’s cost-saving proposals. They are more interested in rewarding employees with large increases, hiring additional staff, and funding the pet projects of their friends. They refused to save up to a $1 million by moving to a central dispatch system like Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge, Montvale, and all the Northern Valley towns.
There are more examples of their actions that will make Hillsdale unaffordable for many of our senior citizens, who make up almost 30% of our taxpayers. Seniors, who pay school taxes without sending students, get minimal support in funding from a town where the council recently spent $12,000 for a study to recommend that they spend $2 million to put artificial turf on Centennial Field. Our current senior budget is a small fraction of what we already pay just to maintain our sports fields.
Talk about checks and balances. How about spending some of the tax dollars seniors to pay for an adequate senior center? Most of our neighboring towns have built dedicated senior centers. If this council continues its spending, it will force seniors out, which will impact our schools and raise the largest part of your tax bill. Senior homeowners are one of Hillsdale’s greatest assets.
This council continues to spend tax dollars on lawyers and studies to “redevelop Hillsdale.” If you have driven up Kinderkamack Road and seen the massive buildings going up in Park Ridge, you will get an idea of what the council has in store for Hillsdale. It looks like overdevelopment, which will further congestion in our town.
Now is the time to stop this. It is time for a positive change. Voters have an opportunity to do this by creating a bipartisan council, electing Democrat Ian Askins and Republican Janetta Trochimiuk. Mayor Ruocco deserves our support.