Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • April 20, 2011 Wyckoff Township committee election features contest by John Koster Wyckoff voters will have a choice this November, as one incumbent Democratic Wyckoff Township Committeeman, one Republican incumbent, and one GOP newcomer seek the two available seats on the township’s governing body. Democrat Brian Scanlan, and Republicans Thomas Madigan and Doug Christie will run unchallenged as they seek endorsement in their respective parties’ primaries on June 7. Christie, an independent contractor and a member of the Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment, is a long-term member of Wyckoff Volunteer Fire Department and serves president of Engine Company #1 and as chaplain of the entire department. He is active in the Reformed Church and in a number of volunteer community activities. He and his wife have two children. Municipal budget will add $65 to tax bill The Wyckoff Township Committee adopted the 2011 municipal budget at a special session last week. The spending plan will add $65 to the annual property taxes on a house assessed at the township’s average assessment of $810,600. The budget, which totals $17,071,809, was introduced on March 11 to minimal public comment and was amended after the adoption of the Municipal Tax Levy Law on March 21. The new state law changed the way the local libraries are funded by placing the mandated contribution directly on the tax bill and removing it from the tax levy. This update led to entering the minimum library tax of $1,538,671 as a separate item, but did not affect the amount to be raised by local property taxes ($11,535,080). This year, a resident with a house assessed at $810,600 will pay $1,951 for municipal services, including police, administration, roads, and equipment for the volunteer emergency services. This tax does not include funding to support the local schools, the regional high school district, or Bergen County. The township committee cited $349,024 in expenses which are beyond the governing body’s control. Those expenses include $124,450 for police salaries, $99,000 for employee health care, a $63,407 increase in police pensions, and a $61,687 increase in the employee pension system. The mandated increases comprised more than 90 percent of the total budget increase. Township officials have pursued a number of tax control options, including joint purchases and shared services with the WOLF group that includes Wyckoff, Oakland, and Franklin Lakes. J. KOSTER Madigan, appointed to fill the unexpired term of former Mayor David Connolly, is now seeking the electorate’s seal of approval. He is an accounts executive with a packaging firm in Teterboro. A is a graduate of Stonehill College in Massachusetts, Madigan served for 12 years on the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education and as a member of the Ramapo High School Music Parents Association. He has been a coach for baseball, soccer, softball, and basketball, and is also active in Rotary. He is a former member of the Wyckoff Recreation Board and served as liaison to the Master Plan Committee in 2010. He is also the director of the Elizabeth “Bitsy” Madigan Scholarship Fund, named in memory of his daughter, which has awarded more than $10,000 in scholarships to students from Ramapo and Indian Hills High Schools since 2000. Scanlan, the first Democrat elected in Wyckoff since the 1930s, is a graduate of Rutgers College of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, with graduate credits from Columbia University. He achieved fluency in German with no background at home or in school. Scanlan works in medical publishing with a German pharmaceutical firm. He and his wife have three daughters, and the entire family is active in outreach construction programs to people in need as volunteers. Scanlan resigned as president of Friends of Wyckoff after his election and inauguration to the township committee, but remains active in environmental matters. Several other Democrats and independent Republicans ran for Wyckoff Township Committee in the aftermath of the lengthy controversy over the development of Deep Voll Ravine, but only Scanlan was successful. REPORT CARD We can tutor for class grades in English, Math, and U.S. and World History along with SAT Verbal, Writing, and Math. Many students go up 100-plus points. A+ WANT THE A? Lynn’s Pet Care Going on vacation? Away for the weekend? Work long hours away from home? We’ll care for your pets when you can’t. Please call 201-493-8442 Lynnspetcare18@Yahoo.com 201-445-1343 Break the Highway Trend! ...not your community’s back. 3-9-11 janine JohnKostner2x2(3-9-11) 2 x 2” Local businesses are the backbone of your community and the trend to shop the big guys on the highway hurts us all.Your local businesses have what you want... at the right price... and close to home. So, why hassle with the highways? Save Time! Save Gas! Save Money! SAVE YOUR COMMUNITY! We Need You SHOP LOCALLY. IT’S SMART. ...and besides, it’s so convenient!