Mansfield May Add Trash Pickup Fee

MANSFIELD, MA — A new fee on trash collection could be used to close the budget deficit for fiscal year 2019.

Town Manager Kevin Dumas introduced the proposed fee at this week’s selectmen meeting. Unlike other towns, residents in Mansfield do not pay for trash pickup beyond a $900,000 override approved in 2000. The cost of the service has increased by about $857,000 since then, Dumas said.

“It’s over $1.7 million now to be able to run that service but the only fee we’re collecting is about $900,000,” Dumas told the selectmen.

The overall budget is about $1 million in the red, an improvement from $2.3 million last month, but the deficit can be wiped out with the new fee and a change in the fee structure for the ambulance service that is mostly absorbed by the insurance company, according to Dumas.

As it stands, the fee is a proposal and remains in the discussion phase.

Town officials are expected to continue budget talks at selectmen meetings and through department meetings scheduled for Feb. 26 to March 5.

Image: File Photo