Ho-Ho-Kus August 31, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 Water penalty ordinance tabled for further review by Jennifer Crusco Comments and concerns from multiple residents led the Ho-Ho-Kus Council to table Ordinance 994, a proposal to toughen the penalties for water use violations that are now covered by Ordinance 8134. Under the ordinance that is now in effect, after a first offense, penalties for water use violations include fines and imprisonment. Additional offenses thereafter include a $1,000 fine and 10 days in jail, or both and rise to a fine of $2,500 or 30 days in jail, or both. The proposed update, Ordinance 994, includes the following language, “After a first offense in accordance with Section 81-33 of this ordinance, any person or business who thereafter violates the water use restrictions imposed pursuant to this ordinance shall have its water supply discontinued. The water supply shall not be turned on unless and until such person or business pays a $100 fee. For a third and subsequent offense, in addition to the penalty set forth herein, the fine imposed shall be $2,500 or imprisonment for 30 days, or both.” Resident John Buffa urged the council to revisit the language of Ordinance 994. He explained that he had experienced a termination of water service at his own home last summer while his family was at Sloan Kettering, where his daughter was receiving cancer treatments. Buffa noted his daughter’s critical need for water when she arrived home, but the family’s service had been shut off. The issue, Buffa clarified after the meeting, was that the automatic sprinkler system on his property was in use while the family was away from home. The area was experiencing drought conditions at that time, borough officials said. Buffa told the council this situation illustrated the life risk that can occur without water. “This is Ho-Ho-Kus and we live here because it’s like Mayberry,” Buffa said, referring to the iconic town depicted in “The Andy Griffith Show.” “This is draconian. It’s horrible. It’s not necessary to shut off the water,” Buffa said, urging the council to manage the situation in a different way. Buffa presented the council members with some statistics, and asserted that the $11,250 fine being charged to the borough by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for overuse of water in 2010 amounts to less per gallon than the borough charges residents for water use. Mayor Thomas Randall noted that the Ho-Ho-Kus Water Utility is not a money-maker for the borough, but is intended to be a self-liquidating enterprise. “We’re not out to make money off of fines,” Mayor Randall told Buffa. Randall acknowledged that there is some leakage and spillage in every water system, but the (continued on page 19)