Refuse and Recycling

The opinions expressed are solely our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions of other members of the board.

Let’s talk trash, otherwise known as refuse and recycling. While there is always much debate about when it gets picked up, how it gets picked up, how much it costs and how to pay for it, I think we can all agree on one thing, we want a clean town. Municipalities are not required by statute to provide trash service or to cover the cost of trash or recycling. In Stoneham we have a contract for trash and recycling curbside weekly pick- up. Currently the town covers $467K out of the general fund. The current projected cost for trash and recycling is $1.2 million for this year after the subsidy and there is a deficit of $322,941.00. With an approximate 6300 users, the difference in cost will be covered by a rate of $255.00. The actual cost to taxpayers is $200 per household. The “rate” of $255 was derived to cover the shortfall and balance the bills.

The History:

In 2005 the Board of Selectmen had a budget crisis to deal with. Operational overrides had consistently failed in Stoneham and they had no viable alternative but to implement a fee to cover the cost of trash pick-up in order to preserve public safety, education, town services, and employees. By implementing a fee for service the town was able to prevent even deeper cuts to other necessary and required services. At that time the town had made significant cuts to all departments across the board, DPW, police, Fire and the public schools. Over time the trash fee has been raised and lowered, unlike the cost of trash and recycling which has gone up over time, just as the cost of living has gone up annually. Prior to 2007 and through 2013 there were Selectmen who were interested in Pay as You Throw as an option for trash removal. The Department of Environmental Protection came out and did presentations. The idea was not well received by residents, but at the time the concept of recycling and the ability for recycling to reduce tipping fees was just becoming more main stream. Residents weren’t used to recycling and children were just starting to be taught to recycle in school. Times have changed.

Current Status:

What hasn’t changed is the fact that fluctuation and inconsistency does not work. Most residents want consistency in services and consistency in the budget. It is unsustainable for the town to cover the cost of trash without making cuts to other areas of service. We have a vibrant senior population who are aging in place and need our support, young children whose futures are dependent upon a world class education in modern, technologically sufficient buildings, and young adults looking to leave the nest to find affordable housing options in the community. We also want our road and sidewalks repaired and snow removed. We want our police and fire departments to have the equipment they need to do their job safely. We want a library that is able to provide much needed resources to residents. We want an active senior center. And we want our trash and recycling removed from our curb weekly. So the fee was reduced and the costs have gone up. The bill needed to be paid and while this should have been addressed before the end of the fiscal year, it wasn’t. The majority of the Board voted to increase the current rate to $255 for the rest of this year to address the shortfall. This means an increase in the trash fee of $27.50 for the next two quarters.

Unfortunately, this means is that the fee is no longer able to sustain itself at the lower rate and either needs to be increased permanently or other options must be explored. As much as we all do not wish to see fees increased, we cannot sacrifice what we have built up over the past decade. The select board you elected has tough decisions to make, and this was a hard one not taken lightly. We don’t want more fees. As parents, we also pay a sports fee of $300 per sport. For families with kids who play three seasons that’s an additional $900 per child. The last thing any of us wanted to do was raise the trash fee but we have a responsibility to pay the bill for the services we receive.

The Future:

In the past there were departments the town could not afford. The town has been able to steadily increase underfunded or defunct departments. These departments include: A Community Development Planner (department of one), Information Technology (department of 2), Addiction Coordinator (department of one), and the re-installment of the Recreation Department (department of one). These departments and the funding needed to sustain them have been supported by residents at town meeting.

We have to come together as a community to decide what it is that we want for services and how we are going to pay for them. We need a new or renovated high school, we need to invest in our roads and sidewalks, our infrastructure, our fire and police, our DPW department, and we need to address our future liabilities by increasing our stabilization fund, and start putting money aside for OPEB. This is reality. We need to be realistic about what we want and how we are going to fund it.

We have an amazing community that is filled with untapped resources. We have so much potential and there are so many great things happening here that you would have a hard time participating in all of it. We must make a commitment to each other for our future and for generations to come. It won’t be easy. There will be hard decisions to make. We might not always agree, but we owe it to ourselves to take the hard look and have the necessary conversation and then move forward. We have included some tables of information for your review and we encourage you to look at the town accountant’s presentation which can be found here: http://www.stoneham-ma.gov/sit...

Warm Regards,

Shelly MacNeill and Raymie Parker

Members of the Stoneham Select Board