| Author | Message | ||
     Monster© Supporter Username: Monster  Post Number: 4520 Registered: 7-2002  |
by $3.00 dollars a month. | ||
| hch Citizen Username: Hch Post Number: 344 Registered: 8-2002 |
One word.... monopoly. | ||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4523 Registered: 7-2002 |
yep | ||
| hch Citizen Username: Hch Post Number: 348 Registered: 8-2002 |
Comments from Town Committee members on the lack of competition for trash hauling? | ||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4525 Registered: 7-2002 |
yeah, competition is a good thing. | ||
| Scully Citizen Username: Scully Post Number: 943 Registered: 8-2005 |
I thought a while back someone said that their contract was almost up? Guess not! | ||
| Ima Perplecks Citizen Username: Victor Post Number: 70 Registered: 6-2005 |
big YUP | ||
| jet Citizen Username: Jet Post Number: 1186 Registered: 7-2001 |
We were better off with the MOB. | ||
| Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2501 Registered: 10-2004 |
Off topic but related, let me be the first one to suggest saving money on trash hauling by letting us put our trash out on the streets ourselves. If I could get MORE/BETTER service (such as increased bulk pickups each year), and pay less I would be very happy. I don't personally think the extra convenience (AKA laziness) and aesthetics (AKA trash on the streets is ugly) is a good enough reason to keep this service. I've hauled my own trash to the street my whole life, it won't kill me to do it here. Maybe this change would make it easier to get other trash hauling companies into Maplewood. | ||
| Oldstone Citizen Username: Rogers4317 Post Number: 876 Registered: 6-2004 |
i, for one, don't want to see trash cans on the streets of maplewood...it's bad enough on recycling days where after the stuff is picked up, the containers are thrown all over the place, in the yards, on the street and sidewalk until the evening when people get home. you pay 3bucks for a fancy cup of coffee once, i think 3bucks is worth it for 8 pickups a month. that's less than 40cents a pickup. you can find 40cents on your car floor or between the cushions of your chair in a pinch. | ||
| Lydia Supporter Username: Lydial Post Number: 2129 Registered: 5-2001 |
I'm with Oldstone - if trash pick-up is on the curb, people will get really lazy, cans will sit out for days, raccoons will get into bags, etc. I DO wish we had the option of hauling our stuff to a dump for a reduced fee. But the problem with that is some people will let the trash pile up for months - attract rats, etc. The $3 increase is about a gallon of gas - I figure those trucks get about 2 miles a gallon, maybe less because it's stop and go. I still think our garbage pick-up is one of the best deals going - it's a flat fee, it's optional (recycle/compost everything and you don't need trash haulers) - I take my trash out to the garage and figgidaboutit - priceless. | ||
| hch Citizen Username: Hch Post Number: 350 Registered: 8-2002 |
Garbage pick-up is not optional. Town ordinance requires that you have service to haul your garbage. | ||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4533 Registered: 7-2002 |
and of course there is only one service in town? | ||
| Lord Pabulum Citizen Username: Lord_pabulum Post Number: 49 Registered: 7-2006  |
Indeed, I have spoken with representitives to have the town bid on a contract so that pick-up be included in taxes - there response was "it will raise taxes". local taxes are a write-off and residents will have the advantage of a competitive bid, thus the incremental increase in taxes plus the write off for property owners would equate to lower pick-up costs for the citizen of maplewood. Either the math is to hard for the board or someone is getting a vig. | ||
| eb1154 Citizen Username: Eb1154 Post Number: 534 Registered: 5-2001 |
Lord, It's not as easy as one might think. The idea of putting it in to the taxes came up last year at one of our meetings. I spoke against it becuase of the equity factor. If it is put in to the taxes, those who pay higher taxes would pay more than those who pay lower taxes. There are houses that pay 5 times more in taxes than other houses, so that would mean they would be paying 5 times more for their garbage service. Again, we are discussing these issues and trying to come up with a fair solution. Scully, WM's contract is not with the town it is with the residents. I thnk what you are talking about is the possibility of competion. This may be true, I have been hearing rumors and it may be happening soon. | ||
| Lord Pabulum Citizen Username: Lord_pabulum Post Number: 50 Registered: 7-2006 |
Rather than a percentage rate increase why not a hard dollar increase? Generally everybody has the same amount of rubbish - why penalize those residents in a higher tax area. Further, no matter where one lives we all pay the $150 sewer fee. I do realize that property taxes are based on a persentage of assessed value, but perhaps there is a way. | ||
| Howard Levison Citizen Username: Levisonh Post Number: 682 Registered: 1-2004  |
Could this be another one of those "shared services"? | ||
| Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 8086 Registered: 5-2001 |
Whatever happened to the proposal that garbage collection fees be based upon the amount of garbage that a given household actually generates? Possibly a basic service fee plus a per bag fee tacked on to that. This would encourage recycling and reduction of waste generation in the first place and let the major users pay they fair share rather than being subsidized by those who use this service the least. | ||
| SOrising Citizen Username: Sorising Post Number: 665 Registered: 2-2006 |
eb1154, I have lived in towns in which I paid according to how much garbage I had, not a flat fee and not as a percentage of property evaluation. This pricing encouraged people to recycle more. And it was a municipal service that I believe was tax deductible. It could be calculated this way and still be deductible. But there is no hope of anything like this in SO without another BOT. What about in Mplwd? | ||
| hch Citizen Username: Hch Post Number: 352 Registered: 8-2002 |
EB1154: Please explain how WM has a contract with the residents and not the town? Who decides they are the trash hauler for Maplewood? Why is there no other option within Maplewood? Can I get rid of them anytime I want since it's my contract? Please explain the process. | ||
| Oldstone Citizen Username: Rogers4317 Post Number: 882 Registered: 6-2004 |
hch, why is it so important that there be another option for trash pickup? what do you want, dozens of different trash collectors up and down your street...this one picking that one up, that one picking this one up, every single morning, etc., etc., etc.? doesn't it make more sense that one company does it for our small town to lessen the frequency of huge, loud, ugly garbage trucks on our streets every day instead of twice a week? maybe you wouldn't be bothered by garbage truck gridlock in front of your house at 5:30am but i would. are you just trying to save 3bucks??? | ||
| hch Citizen Username: Hch Post Number: 354 Registered: 8-2002 |
Oldstone: How would you like only one choice of airline? Or maybe one car? Or maybe one cell phone company? We even can choose who to buy natural gas from but we can't choose who picks up our garbage. This is ridiculous. Their service sucks, but it can be because there are no choices. They jack up their prices by over 10% but we have no choice but to accept it. I want some competition, some choices, better service, and perhaps (if we're lucky ) lower prices. Monopolies were found to be illegal many years ago, but remarkably the Maplewood Town Committee allows one to exist within our town. | ||
| eb1154 Citizen Username: Eb1154 Post Number: 535 Registered: 5-2001 |
Some answers to your questions. You can contract with any garbage company you want as long as they follow the rules set by Maplewood. (back yard service and such) We haven't been able to get an idea of the price for the per bag system. Yes, this would increase recycling big time. There are also some flaws with this type of system. If you bill it like the sewer tax it is not tax deductible. | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 9141 Registered: 5-2001  |
I wouldn't mind if they did their damned jobs right. Unless we entertain, we have one can filled once a week. Is it too much to ask that they don't fling the cans all over the yard? Or even keep the lids within a reasonable proximity of the can? And who are they to decide that my one discarded bag with a chinese food container sitting at the bottom of the barrel isn't "enough" garbage to justify them emptying the can. As long as I pay for 2 cans twice a week, they don't get to decide when it's worth the effort to take the minimal garabge. |
