Resident on Village Manager Raise: Amount and Timing is 'Ludicrous'

The following letter to the editor was penned by R. Chapman King, who says the was inappropriate. The letter is as follows:

I would like to commend Roger Wiegand, Jim Bombace, Rich Herink and Paul Aronsohn for the stand they took against the inappropriate and untimely salary increase for our Ridgewood Village Manager, who   agreed on a job description and salary range when he was hired. The amount and the timing of the raise is ludicrous. Public officials don’t get bonuses for trimming costs, as this is part of the job. The fact that the increase would also be paid retroactive to January 1^st of this year puts the icing on the cake. What was the Ridgewood Town Council thinking?

We know by the remarks made by Council members Bernadette Walsh and Stephen Wellinghorst what they were thinking. As reported in the Villadom, 8/17, they said their decision did not require public input   because as council members elected to represent the residents, the voters could replace them come election time if the public disagreed with council members day to day decisions. Did it occur to them that as elected officials it behooves them to reach out, to seek constituents feelings, values and needs when voting on sensitive issues? That’s what representation means, not “my way or the highway”. This combination of arrogance and ignorance is appalling coming from elected officials.

This item was under a consent agenda. What is this consent agenda that doesn’t warrant public scrutiny even when it affects us mightily? (A consent agenda is a series of items that are voted on without public discussion.) What world are they living in that they aren’t aware how many people in our village are struggling to stay afloat; with rising prices, cut back wages, fixed incomes or unemployment. We need less elitism and more transparency in our village governance and I for one ask people of good sense not to let this issue slide through but to look to leaders who recognize the circumstance of our times and do the right thing. 　  

R. Chapman King Ridgewood