Historical Background of Park Ridge
The Governing Body of Park Ridge meets on the first, second and fourth Tuesday of each month, with the first Tuesday being designated as an agenda and executive meeting; the second Tuesday as the public meeting at which all public business is conducted, and the fourth Tuesday as an executive meeting.
The executive power of the Borough is exercised, subject to the approval of the Borough Council, by the Mayor, who has the responsibility of implementing policies of the Borough Council and who functions as liaison officer between the Borough Council, municipal personnel and residents of the Borough. The Borough employs a full time administrator who is the chief administrative officer and purchasing agent. The Tax Collector/Director of Finance, also a full time position, is the comptroller and chief financial officer of the Borough and is the treasurer of the utilities.
The Borough’s Police Department consists of 18 police officers and supervisors who are equipped with modern and scientific crime fighting equipment. The Fire Department has four modern pieces of fire fighting equipment and is manned by 45 volunteers. Both police and fire fighting training is provided by the Bergen County Fire and Police Academy. Ambulance Service is provided on a 24-hour basis by the Tri Boro Volunteer Ambulance Corps in cooperation with the Boroughs of Woodcliff Lake and Montvale. Emergency dispatching of police, fire and ambulance services is shared by the tri borough communities. The facility is located in the Park Ridge Police Department.
The Borough is a participant in the Bergen County Utilities Authority, which provides sewerage treatment facilities for the entire municipality. For this service the Borough pays an annual service charge based on the metered flow of sewerage. The service charge is part of the general property tax levy. Weekly garbage collection is also included in the general property tax bill.
As noted earlier, the Borough has owned and operated two self-sustaining utilities for over 80 years. These utilities come under a semi-autonomous Board of Public Works, the members of which are appointed by the Mayor with the confirmation of the Borough Council. The Borough employs a full time Director of Operations who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the electric and water systems, sanitary sewer, and roads/park/public buildings.
The Borough school district is a Type II school district and is an independent legal entity administered by a seven member Board of Education elected by the voters of the school district for staggered three-year terms. The school district serves students in Kindergarten to twelfth grade. For grades K-12, the district neither receives nor sends students, except for a limited number of special education students. The school district is authorized by law to issue debt for school purposes upon vote of the electorate. At present there is no debt for the Borough’s school district. The school system is comprised of two elementary schools and a high school. In 1992, 1996 and 1998, Park Ridge High School was named as one of the top public high schools in New Jersey based on average SAT scores, % of students attending four year colleges, % of students attending the most competitive colleges, and the % of students awarded major scholarships.