GREENFIELD — Privatization might not be the fate of the city’s trash, at least if a handful of City Councilors present for a public waste forum Thursday have anything to say about it.
Following Mayor William Martin and Director of Public Works Donald Ouellette’s call in January for considering outsourcing the city’s solid waste collection to a private company in an effort to save money, residents and a handful of City Councilors pushed back at the sentiment at the gathering at Greenfield High School.
“We expect our taxes to be spent” on quality trash pickup, head of Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution David Cohen said. “When we hear we’re not spending as much as we could, I don’t think most taxpayers mind paying more.”
First-time City Councilors Tim Dolan, Sheila Gilmour, Doug Mayo and Otis Wheeler joined councilor Verne Sund in support of finding affordable ways for Greenfield to collect its own trash. The first-timers were elected during a sweep of left-leaning councilors in November’s election.
The main solution batted around during a two-plus-hour public forum, which split conversation about sludge and solid waste, was upping the price of the “pay-as-you-throw” trash stickers by 25 cents this year and then an additional 25 cents in the following year.
With the 50-cent increase over two years, bringing the cost to $2.50 for a large bag, Ouellette said his rough calculations say the city could essentially raise enough money to pay for needed fixes to keep trash disposal to a Greenfield public commodity.
“Everybody in town can hate me, but I think we really should put the stickers at a higher price,” resident Paul Jablon said during the forum. “We really expect good service and for good service, you need to pay for that. We need to support the things that you’re asking for.”
Jablon is also a member of Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution. His sentiments were echoed by many, including Gilmour, who had countered a point about whether all residents should pay into a quality solid waste disposal program if they live in a place like an apartment, where they don’t directly use it. She said residents pay taxes toward schools and senior centers, even if they don’t use them.
“Part of being a community is pulling our resources together,” the councilor said.
Sund talked about his concern for the current vehicles picking up trash — two of which are out of commission, which Ouellette said has pushed city employees to collect more with less vehicles.
“I wouldn’t mind paying another dollar for a trash bag,” Sund said, noting he just wants to pay whatever is necessary so the city can fix its own vehicles.
Executive Director of Franklin County Solid Waste District Jan Ameen said, “There’s always challenges of privatization.” She recommended the city run a full cost-benefit analysis.
The former solid waste coordinator for West Springfield, and currently a representative on the Sustainable Greenfield Committee, Michael Pattavina spoke about the successes of privatization back in West Springfield. He said residents were happy with it, and pushed for the same in Greenfield.
Ouellette and Martin cautioned not to rule out privatization yet.
“We have to consider the impacts on the budget,” Martin said. He noted there was a good exchange of ideas and while he doesn’t disagree with the residents advocating for keeping trash collection in Greenfield, by Greenfield, he knows there could be an “expense avalanche” coming down the line with more pending rules and regulations from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“My main point was, ‘Look guys, I don’t care either way. For 15 years you’ve been calling this problem,” Ouellette said. “If you decide to keep it, keep it and do it right.”
You can reach
Joshua Solomon at: jsolomon@recorder.com