June 23, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Ridgewood Council approves budget; policemen’s jobs saved by John Koster Ridgewood Mayor David Pfund has credited fellow police officers who agreed to accept unpaid furloughs with saving the jobs of two new policemen. Village Manager Ken Gabbert added that more jobs might be saved as the Ridgewood Village Council finally voted to adopt the 2010 budget. “With no concessions from the unions, we thought there might be 36 to 40 layoffs,” Mayor Pfund said last week. “We were able to work things out with the PBA so that officers took days off without pay to save their fellow officers from being laid off. That’s terrific!” Ridgewood’s two junior patrolmen, Michael McDermott and Colin Donnelly, had been scheduled for layoffs as of the previous council meeting when the budget vote was postponed. The two were considered for potential layoffs because they are the junior members of the police force. The PBA had urged the council to save their jobs, and negotiations continued down to the last minute, when PBA members offered to take enough unpaid furloughs from their own shifts to keep McDermott and Donnelly on the payroll. Negotiations were still in progress at the time of last week’s vote to see if any other jobs could be saved by furloughs and other concessions. The present financial crunch has led to suggestions that as many as 45 employees would have to be laid off – though the total of 27 layoffs this far, including Donnelly and McDermott, declared two weeks ago, is said to be no longer valid as negotiations continue. The issue of whether the two full-time fire inspectors’ jobs could be kept within the Ridgewood Fire Department was still subject to negotiation, officials said. Firefighters and fire alarm vendors friendly to the paid department, one of four in Bergen County, said that hiring outside inspection contractors would lead to “a mess,” but the council was committed to reducing at least some department expenses, although public (continued on page 12) ��������� ������� ��� ���� ������������� ����������������� ��������������������������� ���������������������������������� ���������������������������� ���������������� ����������������������� ��������������������������������� �������������������������������� ������������������ ������������������������� ������������������������ ������������������������ WE HAVE MOVED TO OUR NEW LOCATION! ����� ��������� 266 Harristown Rd, Suite 102, Glen Rock GLEN ROCK PLAZA 201.345.5621 LASER & COSMETIC DENTISTRY FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY FULL SERVICE DENTAL CARE • Orthodontics • Invisalign (Invisible Braces) • Porcelain Veneers • Implants • Teeth Whitening • Oral Cancer Screening • Periodontal Treatment Mayra Modesto-Garrido D.D.S We Offer Line Of Credits And Financing Plans Free Consultation • We Accept Most Dental Insurance We Offer Oral Sedation