Ridgewood manager: Valley Hospital adds $200M in ratables, municipal tax rise limited to about 3%

Village Manager Keith Kaczmark told the Ridgewood Village Council on April 23 that the addition of Valley Hospital’s campus to the village tax rolls increased the municipality’s taxable base by about $200 million and helped keep the municipal portion of the 2025 tax bill to roughly a 3% increase for the average homeowner.

Kaczmark said a state law enacted in February 2021 created a community-service per‑bed contribution that previously produced payments to Ridgewood while the hospital operated under its prior status. He said the village received just over $481,000 in 2022 (based on 430 licensed beds) and roughly $524,000 in 2023 (based on 446 beds); the 2024 figure was prorated because the hospital relocated.

The manager said after the hospital’s move to Paramus the local assessor added the former Valley Hospital campus to Ridgewood’s tax base. "It adds $200,000,000 in new ratables over last year to our tax base," Kaczmark said, and that the village’s net valuation rose to about $6.1 billion—a change he described as just under a 3.5% increase. He also told the council that both the village and Valley Health System have filed tax appeals concerning the property and that those matters are pending litigation and cannot be publicly discussed in detail.

Why it matters: the added ratables spread the municipal tax burden over a larger base, which officials say reduced the percentage increase residents would otherwise face. Kaczmark said the village’s administrative team and council set a target of keeping the municipal tax increase at or below 3% when preparing the budget presented to the public on April 9. "Any information that has been put out there about a 5 or 6% tax increase being passed on to the taxpayers of Ridgewood by this council is false," he said.

Kaczmark gave a numerical example: the municipal share of a typical Ridgewood tax bill is roughly 24%. Using an average assessed home as a baseline, he said the municipal portion of the tax bill increases by about $149—"just over 3%"—under the introduced 2025 budget. He added that the Board of Education introduced a 2% budget increase, which earlier projections showed would raise school‑portion costs on an average home by about $251; because of the Valley Hospital ratable increase, Kaczmark said the school portion may now show a net reduction once the school board finalizes its numbers.

Council discussion and public reaction: council members thanked Kaczmark for the presentation, and some urged additional public explanation where litigation constraints allow. Deputy Mayor Pam Perrin and others said they appreciated the transparency and urged staff to continue answering public questions. Several residents criticized the timing of the explanation and asked why the presentation was not delivered before the budget was introduced.

Resident Boyd A. Loving said an appeal by Valley was filed March 26 and asked why the public learned of the effect only after the April 9 budget introduction. Saurabh Dhani, who spoke remotely, urged the council to explain where the village’s communications used the terms "misinformation" and "disinformation" and to distinguish between tax levy changes (total dollars collected) and the per‑household tax rate change. "The tax levy for the town is increasing by 6.55%, and I'm asking you to own it," Dhani said; Kaczmark and council members replied that the village is distinguishing levy versus rate and that the average household municipal increase under the current introduced budget is about 3.1%.

What the village said it will do next: the manager and council reiterated that the budget will be finalized at the council meeting scheduled for May 14; the board of education was expected to adopt its budget the Monday following the meeting. Kaczmark said staff would continue to respond to resident questions and attempt to provide as much information as legally permitted while tax appeals remain pending.

Ending: council members and residents signaled continuing interest in clearer public communications; officials said they would provide more explanatory materials as numbers solidify and as litigation permits further disclosure.