Ridgewood officials weigh larger parks budget, request for new maintenance staff

Ridgewood — Director of Parks and Recreation Nancy Bigos presented the department’s 2025 operating request Thursday and asked the Village Council to restore several full‑time maintenance positions and keep a recent offer to a tree maintenance worker on the table.

Bigos told the council the parks division is asking to add three maintenance worker I positions and to fill two vacancies (a tree maintenance worker and a laborer) that were previously cut. She said the proposed rise in full‑time wages accounts for about $250,000 of the department’s increase, with roughly $100,000 of that budgeted for the three new positions and the rest for promotions and step increases.

The changes, Bigos said, respond to heavier use of parks and recreation facilities — Memorial Park at Van Ness Square and multiple athletic fields among them — and to added operational workloads tied to special events, maintenance of new installations and an expanded summer program calendar. “When we have events, you need to be able to pick up trash, empty garbage, edge facilities and blow off sidewalks,” she said. Bigos and Park Supervisor Matt Angulo also described ongoing capital work the department completed in 2024 and projects planned for 2025, including court resurfacing and additional tree plantings.

Council members acknowledged the maintenance needs but pressed for detail on personnel costs and recruitment risks. Council Member Evan asked whether the new positions could be part time to reduce benefits costs; Bigos said she would explore alternatives but stressed the difficulty of recruiting dependable seasonal and part‑time workers. Deputy Mayor Perrin and other members noted roughly $80,000 of the requested increase represents unavoidable step and promotion costs that the council must fund regardless of new hires.

Bigos said one of the vacant positions (a tree maintenance worker) has an offer outstanding and is essentially “done deal” in the department’s staffing plan. She also detailed a restoration request for three positions that existed before cuts some years ago and said the department has been trying to put those roles back into the roster since staff losses beginning in 2010.

Council members asked staff to return with tighter options and cost offsets as the administration finalizes revenue estimates. The council did not vote on the parks request; members signaled support for restoring capacity but emphasized the need to balance the operating budget and to consider part‑time mixes, grants or other offsets before final adoption.

The parks presentation continued into capital discussions at the end of the session, where Bigos reviewed planned capital repairs and replacements tied to the department’s recent investments.