Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • November 27, 2013 Ridgewood Two salary ordinances ready for December 11 adoption vote by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council introduced two salary ordinances at the most recent public meeting. Both ordi- nances will be up for public hearings and adoption votes on Dec. 11. The white collar salary ordinance and the blue collar salary ordinance both provide increases of 1.5 percent for 2012, 2013, and 20124, with a special increase of 1.75 per- cent for those employees who are on Step 8 for 2012. All employees hired after Nov. 1, 2013, will be paid in a salary range that is five percent less than the salary range for village employees hired before that date. All retirees and their spouses who are age 65 or over will be required to sign up with Medicare for their health insurance. The white collar salary ordinance provides salary ranges for office workers below the rank of department heads or supervisors. Salaries for the maximum range in 2014 may range as high as $92,328 for principal engineer- ing aide, $88,028 for public works inspector, and $75,000 for administrative clerk, though these are the maximum ranges for those titles. Most salaries are in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. The blue collar salary ordinance covers mechanics, technicians, equipment operators, and laborers in street services, parking and roads, central garage, water pollution control, property maintenance, parks department, water utility, recycling, yard waste recycling, and Clean Commu- nities Grant programs. Salaries range as high as $81,559 for a senior mechanic in the central garage or a lab technician in the water pollu- tion control plant, or $74,682 for a heavy equipment opera- tor at the top level in 2014. Part-time seasonal workers in the water utility are paid from $8.69 to $20.11 an hour. Threat assessed A female employee of Carlo’s Bakery at 12 Wilsey Square in Ridgewood called 911 to report having received an anony- mous bomb threat on the store’s main telephone line. Ridgewood Police Department and fire department per- sonnel responded to the scene to evacuate the bakery and nearby buildings. Several streets in the area were also closed as were sidewalks and a nearby pedestrian underpass. A Bergen County Police Department bomb sniffing dog was summoned, and arrived at the scene within minutes, accom- panied by Bergen County Police Department Chief Brian Higgins. The store was searched and no explosive devices were found. Ridgewood Police are continuing to investigate the threat. Ridgewood Fire Department and EMS units were placed on standby. Ridgewood Emergency Services units, along with personnel from Midland Park Police Department, assisted with traffic control. (Photos courtesy of Boyd A. Loving.)