Special Referendum Vote Would Cost Ridgewood Taxpayers $40-$45K

RIDDGEWOOD, N.J. - A special election for a binding referendum involving the village’s parking deck would cost taxpayers $40,000 to $45,000, officials confirmed Thursday.

A dedicated, but small, group of residents is collecting signatures for a petition protesting an ordinance authorizing officials to bond $11.5 million for the 325-space deck. The group claims the four-story, five-level deck is too big.

Matt Jessup, the township’s bond counsel, citing a state statute, said a special election would need to be held within a 40- to 60-day window from the time village Clerk Heather Mailander certifies the signatures on the petition. A special election would most likely be held in June. The group claims the special election could be held in November.

It is the second referendum campaign involving the parking deck the group has launched.

The group got the 814 required signatures to hold a referendum repealing the village’s agreement with the Bergen County Improvement Authority to finance the project. That agreement and the petition were nullified when the Village Council voted unanimously last week to bond for the project alone.