April 2, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Wyckoff Municipal budget includes $54 average tax increase by John Koster The Wyckoff Township Committee has introduced a municipal purposed budget that will increase taxes on the average house, assessed at $812,200, by $54 per year while investing significantly in the township’s infrastructure. Adoption of this budget is anticipated at the April 29 public meeting. The township’s municipal purpose budget, which will total $17,947,402, covers the cost of police, administration, streets, roads, and parks, and the equip- ment for the volunteer fire department and ambulance corps. Property owners are cautioned that the tax associated with the municipal budget is just one component of the overall prop- erty tax rate. The overall rate includes FLOW Area Trustees and teachers fail to reach agreement The Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Education and the Ramapo Indian Hills Education Associa- tion have failed to reach an agreement on a new contract after three sessions with a state-appointed mediator. The previous contract with the teach- ers’ association, which, besides teachers also represents supplemental teachers, administrative assistants, technical assis- tants, instructional aides, custodians, and security aides, expired on June 30, 2013. Interim Superintendent Ernest Palestis advised that the state will now appoint a fact finder, and the cost will be the respon- sibility of both parties. Both sides in the contract dispute will submit their final proposals and evidence to support the rea- sonableness of their last offers. “It is anticipated that the selection, appointment, and scheduling of a hearing by the fact finder will take several months and may extend into the next school year,” Palestis said, adding that the fact finder has the authority to recommend the terms of a settlement to the parties, but the rec- ommended terms of settlement are not binding upon either party. According to Palestis, the negotiations have stalled on the issues of salary, the employees’ request to reduce their statuto- rily required health care contributions, and the school board’s request for accountabil- ity of the time required for compensating teachers who supervise extracurricular activities. Palestis said the board has offered a highly competitive salary and ben- efits package, which included a three- year agreement with cumulative salary increases that exceed the Bergen County three year average settlements, increases in extracurricular stipends, and salary adjustments for supplemental teachers which place them on the teachers’ salary guides for the first time and which would allow them substantial increases in their future earnings plus retroactive longevity increases for employees. “The board also agreed to the associa- tion’s requests to clarify existing contract language governing vacation leave for administrative assistants and to extend employee safety protection to all employ- ees, and the board proposed a change in the prescription drug program to provide the employees a stand-alone plan without any cap on the reimbursement level in consideration for the elimination of major (continued on page 21) funding for the district’s K-8 and regional high schools and Bergen County. These taxes are calculated separately. The township committee agreed at a special meeting on Friday, March 21, to spend $1.3 million on road repaving, an increase of $1 million over the $300,000 spent in 2013. The 2014 budget also calls for an investment of $200,000 in public safety, including replacement of police radios and computers now near the end of their useful lives. Another $45,000 will be allocated to replace a 1997 dump truck also used for snow plowing, leaf pickup, and road patching, still in use with the fleet. Replacement of the Recreation Build- ing’s siding and roof, safety equipment for volunteer fire department personnel, and energy-efficient windows will also be funded. The township committee agreed to con- tinue contributions to the “sinking funds” used for future fire department purchases, field enhancements, and the eventual replacement of the roof atop town hall. Snow and ice costs resulted in 12 snow responses and an added cost of $170,000 to the budget. State-mandated pensions added $43,113 and health care costs added another $76,700. Township officials credited the useful support of department heads in cutting internal expenses, and the joint purchas- ing program with Franklin Lakes and Oakland with helping to control spending and keep the municipal tax increase to less than one percent for 2014. The owner of the average Wyckoff house will pay $1,809 annually for munic- ipal operations, an increase of $4.54 per month over the 2013 figure. This increase comes to $54 per year, an increase of two- thirds of one percent.