Waldwick February 29, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 3 This week (Feb. 28), the Waldwick Council will consider two bond ordinances for final passage. Ordinance 212 includes a total appropriation of $1,397,750 to be used for various public improvements, new equipment, and vehicles. Ordinance 3-12 would appropriate $40,000 for improvements to the water system. Ordinance 2-12 includes $10,000 for computer equipment for various borough departments. Of that total cost, $500 would be a down payment and $9,500 would be funded by bonds. Council to consider bond ordinances for final passage A sum of $26,000 would be dedicated to improvements to two public properties, including environmental compliance activities for the prior underground tank closure at the Waldwick Department of Public Works yard and installation of a handicapped access lift at the Waldwick Municipal Pool. Of the total expenditure, $1,250 would be a down payment, and $24,750 would be funded by bonds. Drainage improvements at Veterans Park are also included in this measure. The total project cost would be $72,000, with $30,000 to be covered by a Bergen County grant and $42,000 covered by the appropriation of Waldwick’s own open space funds. A $120,000 reconstruction of the parking lot at the Senior Center and Fire House Company #2 is also (continued on page 15) The Waldwick Council recently approved a resolution asking New Jersey’s state-level legislators to address the issue of unemployment benefits for individuals who work on a school calendar year, rather than a full 12 months. The resolution specifically asks that the state find that employees who work on a school calendar year be ineligible for unemployment benefits regardless of whether they work for the board of education or the municipality. The resolution notes that the borough hires school crossing guards to cross children at various local intersections during the school year. Board of education employees who work for a similar period are not eligible for unemployment benefits. The resolution states that the Borough of Waldwick is self-insured and crossing guards who have successfully filed for unemployment benefits have exhausted Waldwick’s self-insured funding “and are now requiring the borough to provide additional funding to cover the deficit resulting from these claims.” Borough council asks legislators to address unemployment issue This year’s deficit is approximately $20,000. According to the resolution, “municipalities in this state are facing severe economic times and are being forced to make difficult choices and do not need the prospect of facing new expenditures.” The document references Senate Bill 2827, which started to address this issue, and Assembly Bill 132, which also addresses seasonal workers’ unemployment claims. Waldwick Borough Administrator Gary Kratz pointed out that, because the borough is self-insured, the municipality is not part of the state’s pool of unemployment resources. He said the borough wants to have the state stop making a distinction between board of education employees, who are not eligible for unemployment benefits, and municipal employees, who do qualify. The request is based on financial issues, he stressed. “We love our crossing guards. They do a great job and we have the utmost respect for them,” Kratz emphasized.