Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • March 6, 2013 Ramsey Review Chamber to meet The Ramsey Chamber of Commerce will meet March 6 at Photography by Sky, located at 245 East Main Street. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Attendees are invited to bring business cards for the table display. Members interested in hosting a Chamber meeting are invited to e-mail rtilton@ramseychamber.com. Students invited to Friday Frenzy Ramsey students in grades six and up are invited to the Ramsey Public Library’s Friday Frenzy set for March 8 from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. Participants will enjoy chocolate snacks, Nintendo Wii, Playstation, crafts, games, and fun with Ms. Ellen and Ms. Maggie. Registration is not required. The library is located at 30 Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey. Learn about perennials Bill Kolvek will address the Ramsey Area Garden Club on Tuesday, March 12. The meeting will be held at 6:45 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 55 Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey. Kolvek is the owner of his own company, which specializes in perennial plant, and instructs an ornamental grass course at the New York Botanical Gardens. The public is invited to attend to attend the first portion of the meeting, which features the speaker. For more information, contact Marianne Ansari at (201) 512-1292. Adorno Fathers set Lenten Dinner The Adorno Fathers will host a Lenten Pasta Dinner on Friday, March 8 at the center located at 575 Darlington Avenue in Ramsey. Donations of $10 are requested; children under age eight will be admitted free. The menu includes pasta with clam or marinara sauce, salad, garlic bread, and dessert. Tickets will be sold at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Adorno Fathers Seminary in Ramsey. Flood response and safety training available Ramapo College’s Civic and Community Engagement Center and World Cares Center will present a flood response and safety training workshop on Thursday, March 7 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the college located at 505 Ramapo Valley Road in Mahwah. The program is open to the public, including local campus and community leaders and volunteers, faith-based leaders, emergency managers, volunteer managers, VOAD members, OEM representatives, and CERT members. The training will enhance participants’ abilities to improve community flood preparedness and response capabilities for terrorist attacks and environmental disasters, and their capability to organize evacuations. Topics to be addressed will include how to set up flood response teams, team management using the incident command system, procedures to respond safely and effectively in a coordinated manner, and physical and emotional selfcare during a disaster response. Training materials will be provided for each participant. The flood response and safety training will also demonstrate how to approach the economic redevelopment of homes, neighborhoods, businesses, and the country. World Cares Center is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to alleviate the pain and suffering inherent in accidents and disasters by empowering individuals, strengthening communities, and training local citizens, agencies, and leaders to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergency situations together. Their focus is grassroots and supports local community members as resilient ready-responders working within official response systems. To register, visit www.worldcares.org and click Flood Response Training, or contact Michelle Bascome at (212) 563-7570, extension 203 or mbascome@worldcares.org. Library hosts events The Mike Luipersbeck Trio will perform at the Ramsey Library on March 10 at 2 p.m. The trio, which features pianist/vocalist Peter Greco, bass player Ron Naspo, and drummer Mike Luipersbeck, will be joined by vocalist Corinn Somers for a performance of jazz, Broadway, American pop, and music of the ‘50s and ‘60s. This concert is presented by the Friends of Ramsey Library. On March 18, Holly Shelowitz, certified nutrition counselor and culinary educator, will present a live cooking demonstration from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the library. Shelowitz will demonstrate how to prepare foods using local produce from the Ramsey Farmers Market. To register, call (201) 327-1445 or e-mail ellen.okeefe@bccls.org. Drop-ins are welcome. The library is located at 30 Wyckoff Avenue. Juniors to meet The Junior Woman’s Club of Ramsey will meet on March 14 at 7:30 p.m. The session will be held at the Ramsey Ambulance Corps Building at 41 South Island Avenue. New members are welcome. Redeemer offers Lenten services The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer at 55 Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey will hold special Lenten prayer services on Wednesdays through March 20. These evenings will begin with a simple potluck supper at 6 p.m. followed by a Service of the Word at 7 p.m. During Lent, a special offering will be collected for the Lutheran Malaria Initiative, which works through local partners to educate families about malaria, increase access to treatment, and provide prevention tools such as bed nets. For more information, call (201) 327-0148. Township seniors concerned (continued from page 7) Williams emphasized that the council supports the seniors, but he emphasized that the council’s goal is to reduce the 4.9 percent tax increase in the township’s proposed budget. “We want you to understand,” he told the seniors, “in our minds we were not voting to cut the senior budget but to make a reasonable increase over what was spent last year.” Sbarra also said he had an open mind on the subject and is willing to make changes if they are beneficial to everyone, but he said it is important for the seniors to understand the reason for the decision at the council level. Roth, who is the council’s liaison to the seniors, explained that the township’s proposed budget contains a 4.9 percent tax increase on all taxpayers, and that increase will affect every resident and every senior on a fixed income. “So we’re trying to reduce the numbers across the board,” he said. He explained that the budgets of other departments were also being reduced even more the senior center’s budget. Roth pointed out that this year’s senior budget was $163,000, or $12,000 more than the previous year, which is an eight percent increase, while the state has imposed a two percent tax levy increase cap on the township. “So we took $6,000 and reduced the $163,000 to $157,000, which is still four percent higher than last year,” he emphasized. Roth also pointed out that the senior center budget line for professional services was $36,000 while over the past two years $28,000 was spent for those services and that is a 29 percent increase. “No one is going to see a 29 percent increase,” Roth said. Pointing out that the $36,000 budget proposal for professional services was reduced to $30,000, while $28,000 was spent last year, Roth said, “That $30,000 is a seven percent increase and yet we’re told we have to cut classes.” He continued, “We’re asking every department to cut their budgets, and we did not cut your budget, we increased it to the level of the last two years when we had good programs for the seniors.” Roth noted that Councilman Larson had made what he thought was a good suggestion, which was to charge the seniors a small fee to attend the classes. But Patricia Spiech said when that was tried previously it did not work because, although people said they would pay for the classes, they did not do so. Laforet addressed the 4.9 percent tax increase in the township’s proposed budget, explaining that his budget meets the state-mandated two percent cap on the tax levy, but “uncontrollable” costs outside that cap will cause the township’s tax rate to increase by 4.9 percent if the township’s budget is not reduced. He identified those uncontrollable costs as health care costs, which increased 21 percent; the reduction the overall tax ratable value of the township, which has increased the township’s tax rate; and the fact that the township will not receive the $100,000 plus in excess library funds that was anticipated because the library has voted to put that money into capital expense projects. Laforet explained that the council is in the middle of its process of reviewing the township’s budget. “I understand what the council is trying to do, but my support for the seniors has not waned,” he said. No change in the recommendation to reduce the senior center budget was made at the meeting, but Laforet added that he was happy to hear that that the council has an open mind on the issue and he said he feels there are other places to save $6,000. The senior advisory board was asked to provide the council with senior center budget proposals for the council to consider before the township’s final budget is adopted.