Ridgewood October 19, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Village council tables pay to play proposal by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council agreed to table the adoption of the proposed “pay to play” ordinance after resident Roger Wiegand raised some critical questions about the wording of the proposal. The ordinance aims to restrict donations to candidates or seated officials or to the village that could lead to favoritism toward contractors seeking work from Ridgewood on construction projects or other municipal jobs. However, Wiegand pointed out problems with the wording of the ordinance. Wiegand’s first objection was open-andshut. He pointed out that, while the wording of the ordinance refers to “Section G,” there is no “Section G” in the full printed text as provided at the Oct. 12 public meeting of the Ridgewood Village Council. The resident’s second objection was that one provision of the ordinance could be a loophole for brazen graft of the type that the proposed ordinance attempts to ban. Wiegand echoed New Jersey State Controller Matthew Boxer to the effect that a simple advertisement could exempt contractors from the pay to play law if they took out advertising as part of the bidding process -- an issue that council members agreed was at least foggy enough to require some rewording for greater clarity. “I recommend that we table this ordinance until we resolve these two things,” Mayor Keith Killion said. Wiegand had suggested that Ridgewood not adopt an ordinance until the State of New Jersey revised its own pay to play laws, but there was no provision for this at last week’s meeting. Mayor Killion and Village Manager Kenneth Gabbert both said the intent was to accept no gifts from contractors who might be seeking contracts involving taxpayer money. “The amount should be zero,” said Mayor Killion. “There is no threshold.” “There is no threshold. That’s the key number,” Gabbert agreed. Wiegand had raised this question because Section 4 of the ordinance states, “Prior to awarding any contract or agreement to procure professional services or extraordinary unspecified services from any business entity, with an aggregate cost in excess of $17,500 for the contract(s), the Village of Ridgewood or its purchasing agents...shall receive a sworn statement... that it has not made a contribution in viola- tion of Section 1.” The village clerk would be responsible for informing the council if any such contribution is made. The council also tabled the approval by resolution of another controversial large expenditure of outside money. No vote was taken on Resolution 11-236 for the award of a contract to Automatic Door Systems of North Arlington for the installation of an ADA-approved ramp at the Lester Stable and the installation of automatic doors. Council Member Stephen Wellinghorst had pointed out at a work session the week before the public meeting that $111,000 seemed to be an excessive price for the amount of work involved. When council members and administration officials countered that the vast majority of the money $104,620 - came from three Bergen County Community Development Block Grants, with no requirement for local matching funds, Wellinghorst responded that the money still came from taxpayers and that the price was exorbitant. The three grants included two for $20,000 each and a third for $64,000. Mayor Killion said approval of the resolution would be postponed until Wellinghorst and the rest of the council had a chance to go over it.