Explore Superior - Landfill

2nd City Councilor Enters Garbage Fray

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Garfield Reintroduces Stepped Garbage Fee

By Doug Dalager

Graham Garfield, 6th District City Councilor | Explore Superior

Graham Garfield, 6th District City Councilor

In an effort to reach agreement over the controversial garbage ordinance rejected last Tuesday by the Superior City Council, Graham Garfield, councilor from the 6th District, has scheduled a public forum to outline a new proposal, and to listen to concerned citizens.

Last Tuesday, the Superior City Council rejected a $9.75 per month fee for garbage collection. During that meeting Garfield expressed his deep concerns over the ability of some of his constituents to pay that fee, and asked that the council and City administration consider a stepped system that would gradually increase the fee, and lessen the blow to some with a reduced fee based on income.

When that suggestion was rejected, he proposed that the council table the issue for two weeks until their next session, giving them time to consider alternate proposals. Mayor Bruce Hagen stated there was not sufficient time for that due to the need to submit a balanced budget by the end of November, and that the matter needed to be settled that night. Ultimately the ordinance failed to achieve a majority vote, and the councilor adjourned the session having made no decision. The Council has now scheduled a special session for Tuesday, August 25th in hopes of resolving the matter.

Garfield is now proposing a new ordinance that would implement the fee beginning at $7.75 per month on January of 2016, and graduating up $8.75 on January 2017, and $9.75 per month on January of 2018. His proposal is designed to bridge the gap between councilors who advocated a lower rate that could be reconsidered later, and those who maintain that a lower rate would not solve the expected budgetary shortfall for garbage collection and landfill operations. It should be noted that some councilors said they would not agree to pass along any garbage fees to citizens.

To solicit support for his proposal, Garfield will host a public forum at the Superior Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 24th to outline his plan and to accept public questions and input.

“Three councilors including myself supported starting with a $7.75 fee and revisiting it if needed,” Garfield states, “But four other councilors were firm about a $9.75 fee.  It is my hope that this plan will bring a majority into agreement and keep our collection services city owned and operated”.

Garfield believes his plan has several advantages, including giving the public time to adjust to paying a higher fee, while still creating additional revenue to keep the city’s Landfill Budget stable.

Explore Superior - Landfill

The Superior landfill is slated for closure by 2023

His plan also includes a reduced rate option for a lower-capacity garbage receptacle.  Under his proposal, in 2016 the city would offer some residents a 32-gallon or similar sized receptacle at the rate of $6.75.  He believes this option would appeal to seniors, families with low income and the environmentally conscientious.

To qualify for the $6.75, households would need to demonstrate a lower level of trash production in order for Public Works to consider them for the smaller receptacle and lower rate. Garfield does not anticipate needing to raise the reduced rate during the three-year transition. He did not detail a mechanism to qualify citizens for a lower rate, or how that would be paid for, but instead stated that the Public Works Department would need to determine how best to manage that program.

Councilor Garfield stated that he regrets the need to add a fee, but believes that “with these revisions the ordinance will be both responsible governance and acceptable to most residents.”  He believes his proposal can pass the special meeting on Tuesday, August 25th, allowing city government to put a lid on their landfill budgetary woes.

When asked how the City would pay for the additional smaller cans, he said that although there may be some expense up front, the City purchases cans on an ongoing basis to replace those that wear-out and that this should work itself out over time. He also said that can availability might mean some residents who request smaller cans wouldn’t get them immediately, and would need to pay the higher rate until the new receptacles became available.

Mayor Bruce Hagen, Superior, Wisconsin

Mayor Bruce Hagen

We contacted Mayor Hagen about this issue this morning, and he asserted that while he sympathizes with Garfield’s intent, the numbers don’t add up to a successful resolution of the City’s budgetary woes. He said that the expected shortfall in revenue from the landfill, along with increasing expenses require a fee of $9.75. The mayor also pointed out that residents of the Town of Superior currently pay Waste Management $23 per month/$275 annually for recycling and garbage pick-up.

Additionally, Hagen estimates that the City would incur the additional administrative costs of up to two staff members to evaluate which citizens would qualify for a reduced garbage rate based on income, hardship, or senior citizen status. Hagen went on to say that if “someone pays less, someone else will need to pay more” in order for the City to solve this budgetary problem.

32 gallon canSince Garfield’s proposal does not address the cost of the new, smaller garbage cans, this reporter did some unscientific research. A quick Google search for “32 gallon trash can with wheels” yielded multiple options ranging in price from $54.95 to $99.99. When quizzed about the cost of purchasing new containers, Hagen estimated the City could make a bulk buy and bring the price to approximately $50 each. He went on to say that the City has approximately 10,000 residences and small businesses receiving garbage services now, with a total number of 13,300 cans.

At last week’s council meeting, Councilor Dan Olson, 1st District, stated that Douglas County and Superior currently have approximately 17% of our population living at or below the poverty line. If we use 15% as our control number versus 10,000 customers, that would mean the City may have to purchase 1500 of the smaller cans at a cost of approximately $75,000 to implement Garfield’s proposal. City Public works reports that in order to pickup a smaller can with existing City trucks, the lifting mechanism on every truck would have to be retro-fitted. An estimated cost for that modification was unavailable before this article went to press.

Explore Superior will publish an article on Monday evening after Councilor Garfield’s public forum in hopes of providing the public more information about the garbage issue. We will incorporate Garfield’s proposal in that article, as well as a financial breakdown of what this issue means to the tax payers of Superior.

For related articles on the garbage issue in Superior follow these links:
Trash Talk Dominates City Council Meeting
Councilor Advocates Pay As You Throw

Councilor Graham Garfield represents the 6th District of the City of Superior and can be reached at garfieldg@ci.superior.wi.us or at (715) 919-1064

6th District - City of Superior | Explore Superior

6th District – City of Superior

 




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