September 25, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 5 Ridgewood Dismissal leads to more expenses by John Koster The Ridgewood Village Council again voted 3-2 to ter- minate the services of Village Manager Ken Gabbert at the Sept. 18 public meeting -- with a severance package of $83,539. Mayor Paul Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Albert Pucci- arelli, and Council Member Gwenn Hauck voted to final- ize the dismissal after the 30 days when Gabbert had the option to appeal his dismissal and had not done so. Council Member Thomas Riche and Council Member Bernadette Walsh voted “no” on the resolution. They had opposed Gabbert’s dismissal. Riche and Walsh said a com- mitment to talk to Gabbert about his work after a first dis- missal attempt stalled. “I thought Dr. Gabbert brought a welcome change to Ridgewood’s style of management,” Riche said before voting against Gabbert’s dismissal last week. Walsh simply voted “no” on the resolution. Acting Interim Manager Heather Mailander noted that, as part of his dismissal, Gabbert would receive a termi- nation package of $82,539, which includes $46,250 for three months of regular salary and the remainder of his unclaimed sick days. Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli quickly noted that the unclaimed sick days would have been a factor in Gabbert’s termination packet even if Gabbert had not been been dis- missed in the 3-2 vote with split opinions from residents. Several people who had opposed Gabbert’s ouster were seated in the sparse audience, but there were no public comments at last week’s final hearing on the matter. Gabbert’s foes had argued that the Ridgewood manager should have spent more time in Ridgewood and less time in Upper Saddle River during the weather emergencies that blocked many roads with fallen trees and cut off power for a week. Gabbert also faced opposition after the layoffs of 34 village hall employees during a fiscal emergency in 2010. Gabbert’s fans noted that his tough negotiations with public employees’ unions had saved the taxpayers sev- eral times the amount of his salary. He also reportedly terminated the use of Ridgewood Water Company water bill money from Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff customers that was allegedly used for Ridgewood police and fire department services and Ridgewood’s administra- tion as soon as the matter was brought to his attention. The other three towns have taken Ridgewood to court and the matter is under litigation with neither side commenting in detail. Gabbert’s opponents said the tipping factor came when the former council, headed by Keith Killion, voted Gabbert a 12 percent raise some months before the most recent elec- tion. Aronsohn was the only council member present who opposed the raise. The unpopular pay hike became a cam- paign issue, and Killion lost his seat to Hauck by just eight votes. Aronsohn and Pucciarelli, both of whom vocally opposed the 12 percent raise, won by a landslide. Dance with me! Selene Steelman of Ridgewood was the 2013 National Bronze Medalist at the United States Dancesport Championships held recently in Orlando, Florida. She trained with David Porro at the Grand Ballroom Dance Studio in Midland Park.