So what about the new dump fees?

So what about the new dump fees?

I was in favor of pushing for a system that charged for the actual cost of trash, and campaigned on it. I spent years of my life being a militant hippie recycler. I learned the ins and outs of the station, and could recite Dave's costs and budget proposals off the backs of my eyelids. I got told that I am the only councilor who put the Transfer Station on my list of places to learn about, not just campaign at.
I rode around in the garbage truck with Ray Robinson, and talked with business owners and residents for months so that they would understand that it makes more sense to pay a user fee to reflect the true cost of trash, rather than a percentage out of property taxes which has no relation to the amount of trash being thrown away.
However, we are not there yet, and that is why I voted against the new Solid Waste Enterprise Fund system.

The reason I pulled my support of the process is that the new Solid Waste Enterprise Fund became an opportunity to shift costs, and make it seem like there was money to spend as a result. 97,000 got shifted from debt service in the General Fund to debt service in the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund, and suddenly, we were told that this meant we had 90 grand to spend in the General Fund.


Another reason I pulled my support was because, in these difficult economic times, it makes more sense to develop the process slowly rather than go to full implementation. Full implementation means collecting, in six years, the money that we think we will need for landfill closure. We think it is going to be around 3 million, but we don't know for sure. We also think we have to close the landfill in six to eight years, but we do not know for sure what the time line is.


I was in favor of fees that allowed us to set aside money for landfill closure, but were low enough initially that businesses, the haulers, and the residents could get used to the new system, and the city of Rockland could work with everyone to iron out the many kinks and unanswered questions still facing us.


My preference would have been to have initially lower fees, so that we could test this out and work with everyone for a while.

And we could have done just that, by setting aside an agreed-upon figure that was less than 454,000 budgeted this year to be reserved for landfill closure.  Why not set aside 275,000 the first year, and see how it is going? You're still doing better than only setting aside 77,000, which is what the reserve fund would have been if we had kept the budget based on taxes.

This way, you are giving businesses who are going to take a very hard hit on this a chance to adjust. A chance to look at Green ideas like composting. A chance for the city to try to find ways to help businesses and residents with recycling bins and initiatives. For example, do any of you know how much a three yarder from a restaurant WEIGHS?

I wish that the entire council would come to consensus, rather than a split vote. I felt it was very important for us to show unity during this extremely important shift, and to make sure everyone was comfortable. I wanted to spend time to find out if there were grant programs or monies available to help businesses recycle: for example, is there a program to fund the purchase of recycling bins for Main Street? I wanted to work with Rockland Main Street, with FMC, with business, with residents, and the haulers. We're not there yet, but I won't stop trying.

However, one really good part of this new structure is the optional pay per bag. I pushed extremely hard to make that happen, and knew it would draw fire. However, I have had many emails from people who thanked me for supporting this measure, because they know that it is the most environmentally sound way to approach the problem. It is the only way to put an incentive on recycling.

Since I am an ardent environmentalist, I will tell you to go for the optional pay per bag system, and recycle everything. There's a fine in the fee order of $15 a bag if you don't.

In the meantime, I will continue to focus on recycling bins, and my work with the effort to create a regional composting center, which will really help restaurants and other businesses, as well as residents, to remove the heavier food leavings and trimmings from their trash, and create beneficial organic matter in the process.