DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Did the Township Council decide last night (September 28) to renew Montclair’s long-running pact to provide firefighting services to Glen Ridge at a too-low rate?
Sincerely,
Engines That Could
As I wrote this, I didn’t know if the vote was yes, no, or to delay a decision. Why? Because my column deadline was a few hours before last night and Glen Ridge didn’t renew its long-running pact to provide time-machine services to Montclair.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
That time-machine nonsense is fictional, so I’ll call you H.G. (Hallucinating Goofball) Wells. Your thoughts about the version of the firefighting contract you were aware of at your deadline?
Sincerely,
Sci-Fi Guy
At a time of high inflation, the affluent Glen Ridge would in effect pay even less than its previous bargain rate — meaning Montclair should’ve insisted on a better deal or considered ending the pact. Also, GR’s penny-pinching could lead that coin’s Abe Lincoln image to file harassment charges.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Do Montclair residents such as Eileen Birmingham and Councilor-at-Large Peter Yacobellis deserve lots of credit for opposing a contract unfavorable to our town?
Sincerely,
John Kudos Passos
Absolutely. They’re on the right side of this issue, just as someone facing south on Grove Street is on the right side of Glen Ridge.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
With Glen Ridge not giving Montclair a time machine, what could that borough give our township to show some appreciation?
Sincerely,
Heal-the-Rift Gift
A few fancy streetlights, a batch of empty boxes from Bottle King, several tufts of George Washington Field’s artificial turf, and a half-dozen Ridgewood Avenue mansions to be named later.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Speaking of our Township Council, it’s still unwilling to televise conference meetings even though lots of important matters are discussed and votes are occasionally taken. Comment?
Sincerely,
From TV Guide to TV Hide
If that’s how the TC feels, I’m not going to nickname it the Transparency Council. So there!
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Ooh, the Council is so disappointed. (Not.) Meanwhile, how do you feel about a small number of people complaining that our school district’s sex-education curriculum is too liberal or whatever?
Sincerely,
The Right Is Wrong
I favor an age-appropriate curriculum that’s as frank and direct as possible, including discussion of various LGBTQ-related matters. Montclair’s curriculum seems MTS: more than satisfactory, not Microsoft tech support.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Also, the school district is holding a town hall tonight (September 29) in Montclair High’s auditorium and on local TV to discuss the bond referendum to hopefully approve $187 million for much-needed school repairs and upgrades. Good to have that town hall?
Sincerely,
Claude Monet and Clawed Money
Yes, as long as no one skis down the auditorium aisles that slope toward the stage.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
A new Montclair High sport! The upcoming November 8 referendum was also the focus of a Zoom information session last night (September 28) hosted by Montclair’s NAACP and this area’s League of Women Voters. How did it go?
Sincerely,
To Zoom It May Concern
Again, last night was after my column deadline. With no Glen Ridge time machine, I should’ve had the 1939-founded Holsten’s ice cream parlor transport me back 83 years and then forward 82 years and 364 days.
Dave Astor, author, is the MontClairVoyant. His opinions about politics and local events are strictly his own and do not represent or reflect the views of Baristanet.
Spoiler Alert!
It was a win-win.
Ha, Frank! 😂 A win-win for Glen Ridge and 07028 (Glen Ridge’s zip code). 🙁
I think Montclair and Glen Ridge missed an amazing opportunity by not bringing the fire suppression services under a shared services agreement. The reason we missed it was because both municipalities were fixated on their respective financial gain rather than joining in a higher calling to collaborate on a larger public good.
As the Montclair Fire Department showed us, their actual incremental cost to Montclair to provide this service to Glen Ridge was just over $100,000. Montclair’s bid was to charge 8 times more to start, increasing over time. Many others, myself included felt strongly the MFD cost analysis was flawed and resulted in an inequitable share for a premium service to our partner of 30 years to pay.
Glen Ridge submitted a low-ball offer earlier this year that was deemed insulting and rejected out of hand. Subsequently, an alternate Township analysis showed that a much higher annual fee then what we bid was more appropriate to their level of utilization. A substantial and contentious divide ensued.
If this had been a true shared services endeavor, negotiations would be called for. For whatever reasons, this did not happen. Nor did a real win-win outcome occur. The revenue we annually receive is for the taxpayers to decide how to prioritize & allocate. The revenue goes into our General Fund. It was never intended for all of it to be an accounting pass-thru into the MFD’s budget. Likewise for Glen Ridge, they know their payments would go to other uses at Montclair’s sole discretion.
The opportunity I proffer, that passed us by, was to isolate whatever the difference in our financial positions, negotiate a compromise amount, and allocate a sizable amount to fund a new mutually beneficial, shared service. Just as an example, one opportunity could have been to create a jointly appointed share services body that would have the power to allocate annually from a mutually established annual budget allocation to underwrite social responsibility initiatives and organizations. Homelessness, victimization, housing, poverty, climate change, etc.
New Jersey suffers from Balkanization of government and their proprietary services. Finding solutions to mitigate these social issues fueled by economic inequities call out for greater efficiencies and new collaboration. Unfortunately, neither town saw this as such an opportunity to act together locally.
Thank you, Frank, for the detailed thoughts and information. Yes, the process of renewing the firefighting deal could have been handled so much better by both towns.