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March 2011 – week 3 Issue
Power outages in Bergen County
Fort Lee okays new budget
Events in Bergen County
Teaneck School budget to receive approval
Retail markets may improve
Power outages in Bergen County
Several towns in Bergen County faced power outages for over an hour on Wednesday, 9th March, 2011. The Public Service Electric and Gas Co. stated that the outage was caused due to transformer failure at a Ridgewood sub station. The failure was caused at 9am and it led to various 230,000 volt transmission lines to trip and shut down. The outage lasted up to 10am and over 60,000 customers in many Bergen County towns were affected. Residents of Fort Lee were the most affected and many stores in the town had a difficult time operating with a power failure. Other towns that were affected because of the outage included Teaneck, where the outage was confined to the Eastern quadrant and Ridgefield Park where most part of the town had to go without power.Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Leonia and Ridgefield were also affected. Schools had to be in the dark for that hour and studies could resume only when the power was restored.
The $67.6 million worth of municipal budget for Fort Lee, for the year 2011, received the approval of the borough council and came with a 0.9% increase provided by raise in taxes. With a tax levy of $57.6 million, the owner of an average Fort Lee home in the town priced at $475,000 would have to pay $4,468 in taxes for the year. It was also noted that this $37 increase in taxes over the past year, is one of the lowest in many years. While the budget is an increase of $1.3 million over the last year, the budget has been organized such as to accommodate all without sacrificing service or jobs. While full time employees have decreased, the number of part time employees has gone up. Accommodation has also been made to cover certain salaries through grants. Health benefits for employees has also been noted to rise by $1.2 million. As per the new budget, funds for the Police Department have gone down by 12%. Payments towards Bergen County Utilities Authority will also go down by $97,000.
The various towns in Bergen County have a range of events lined up in the month of March. In the town of Tenafly, the Petresq Inc. fur ball will be conducted at the Clinton Inn Hotel on March 19, 2011. This fund raiser event will see music by the David Christopher band. Also part of the event are butler style cocktail hour, open bar, full course dinner, silent auction, giveaways and goodie bags. Tickets for the event are priced at $150 per person. In the town of Ridgewood, ‘The Schoolhouse museum’ continues to showcase ‘The schoolhouse years: childhood in the 19th century’. Various objects and artifacts of the Ridgewood historical society continue to be on display at the event. The exhibit hours are from 1-3pm on Thursday and Saturday and 2-4pm on Sunday. On March 27, 2011, the Ridgewood High and Project Graduation will hold a fashion show and silent auction that will help raise funds towards scholarships. The event would be held at the Ridgewood High School from 1 to 4:30pm. Visitors can snack on cheese, fruit, crackers and juice.
Teaneck School budget to receive approval
On March 29, 2011, a special board of education meeting would be held in the town of Teaneck to help decide the $86,417,236 budget. The amount of the budget is a marked increase of $1,625,256 from the previous year and requires approval. This meeting will comprise of a public hearing and adoption of the budget. The final decision regarding the same for 2011-2012 would be taken on April 27, 2011. Of the total proposed amount in the budget, $77,452,263 would be raised by a tax levy and will be on the ballot. The remaining amount would be funded through federal aid, state aid and other sources of revenue. The increase in tax levy is stated to be the same as last year except for an increase in debt services. Statistics show that the owner of an average Teaneck homeassessed at $465,300 will pay approximately $6051 in annual school taxes. This would be an increase of $26 over the past year. While the district has received additional state funding worth $903,933, it is required by the state that the amount of $1,407,720 for Shalom Academy, a newly established Hebrew immersion school in Englewood.
The retail markets in Bergen County and the surroundings show little signs of improvement as the years of recession continue to hit the market. However experts show hope in the fact that the figures, though low, have remained stable for the year. As per statistics, the retail vacancy rates in northern and central part of New Jersey’s prime shopping highways stand at 8.12% as of January 2011. As per the recent survey conducted by the Goldstein group, though retail vacancy rates are still at recession levels, recent leasing activity indicates that there may be better times ahead. The vacancy rates have remained in this range for the past three years and have shown a slight decline from 8.10% in July 2010. Of the independent vacancy rates, Route 3 in the town of Clifton is noted to have the best vacancy rates at 2.3%. Experts indicate that busy season can be seen ahead and the retail vacancy figures may improve. For one, the convenience store chain of 7-Eleven has signed multiple deals in 2010 and will be expanding at a high rate.
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