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Date: 6/14/2023
LUDLOW — The Board of Selectmen discussed potential trash pickup options for the town at its June 6 meeting.
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Director of Economic and Municipal Collaboration Eric Weiss appeared before the board to discuss possible town trash collection options.
Town Administrator Marc Strange added, “We reached out to Eric and PVPC to help us coordinate some sort of community outreach maybe in the form of a survey to get some feedback as to what the town might be interested in or what options they might prefer in terms of our trash issue.”
Right now, the town charges $100 per unit for a trash fee and adds up to about $600,000 in revenue, according to Strange.
Strange added, “I think our total budget for this year was $1.9 million for trash.”
Selectman Tony Goncalves discussed the rising costs of trash pickup.
He said, “I think our costs have doubled in the last four years. It is getting completely out of control. I don’t think we are going to have much of choice except to have residents pick up their own at this point. If we have another increase and we were to stay level funded, we will need a [Proposition] 2 ½ override next year. It is getting that ridiculous.”
Board of Selectmen Chair James Gennette said that the town is currently under contract with Waste Management to have its services picked up but said the board may eventually be looking for automation pickup.
“One of the big things is we are looking at automation at some point. A lot of these contractors don’t want to do manual labor pickup anymore and, of course, its putting pressure back on us to try and figure out a solution,” Gennette said.
He added, “I am not a big fan of the residents picking up their own trash. I think that puts more trash trucks out on each street. They are all getting picked up at different times and I think there is detriment on the back side of that. There are more things to worry about than everyone paying for their own trash.”
One of the things that Selectman Derek DeBarge wants to see with whatever option is chosen is that the community is aware of the new system.
He said, “Most importantly, at least in the interim or the beginning, is information dissemination to the public. I think that trash is not only a volatile subject because of cost and reverting the cost back our tax payers but it is also a volatile subject because the changes that were made with the fee and purple bags and all of that, the information was just not disseminated properly and people didn’t understand what was going on while changes were being made.”
Many citizens were vocal in their opposition to the potential changes to trash pickup and fee changes a few years ago.
Selectman Bill Rosenblum wants to make sure that the community has a voice in the decision.
He said, “If we did go and put it on the citizens, our citizens have showed that through some of the words and their actions its truly not about the money its more about the service. A lot of them are more upset that the service isn’t that great sometimes. I’m of the school that maybe yeah we go ahead and eliminate trash but I also look at it this way is we are trying to save the taxpayers money.”
He added, “We are actually going to cost them more money if we take trash away because I think in our taxes we are around $250 a household and then the $100 so we are at about $350. I know a lot of other communities that are paying $60 bucks a month, $600, $700 a year.”
Weiss said he will first help create a set of options for the board to look at in terms of trash pickup.
He added the first steps the town should take is potentially make a committee of people from different boards and backgrounds to help decide what is best for the town in terms of trash pickup.