Washington City Council votes to end grass pickup

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August 11, 2008

By Nate Smith, Staff Writer The Washington Times-Herald Mon Aug 11, 2008, 10:42 PM EDT

The Washington City Council did not make a decision on trash, but did decide to do away with grass pickup.

The council unanimously voted Monday to do away with the summer service in two weeks. Those wanting to get the grass out of their yard can take the clippings to the Street Department.

A vote to get rid of the program came after debate from every council member and several in the audience about trash pickup. Mayor Larry Haag said although a decision has not been made, many residents told him a flat fee increase, up to possibly $10 a month, would be better than a sticker program.

“All I’m trying to do is to educate citizens that the trash budget is $543,000,” Haag said. “Last year, it was $537,000. The thought behind the sticker fee was to reduce the waste that was going to the landfill and the abuse of the trash and garbage budget.”

Currently, the city charges $2 every month for unlimited trash pickup. During recent budget negotiations, the city has to make up an estimated $400,000 shortfall from the 2009 budget.

Haag, along with councilmen Steve Dyer and Jim Haag, went to Vincennes and Bicknell last week to see how those programs worked. The sticker plan was mentioned along with a curbside recycling program.

Council members expressed their opinions on the much-debated idea, with most saying the constituents they talked to preferred the flat fee.

“People in the city of Washington have been spoiled,” Councilman Ralph Brummett said. “We picked up everything they had and it’s partially our fault. No one wants to see change. The people that talked to me don’t want the sticker.”

Councilman Tom Baumert, an opponent of the program from the start, said there could still be more that could be cut out of the 2009 budget. He said after the initial debate last month, he has received calls from 50 or 60 people asking him not to vote for the increase.

“When we went through our budgets, we came up with $258,000 of that $400,000 that could be cut out,” Baumert said. “We’re supposed to be tightening our belts and what do you do when you tighten your belt at home?

“Maybe this is the year when we can’t afford to give three percent pay raises. If we took out the pay raises, there’s another $216,000,” Baumert said.

But Councilman Art Biddinger informed Baumert the city could still be down because of the revenue coming in, even after cutting out pay raises.

“We can slim our budget down to where we can’t pay our expenses and still be $400,000 short,” Biddinger said.

Audience members also gave opinions. Mary Jane Kidd said a flat fee is not fair and stickers or extra fees should be used for larger items.

“I have families that live on both sides of me and they have five to six bags a week,” Kidd said. “I have one bag a week. Is that equitable?”

Roger Cox said while he lived at Vincennes, stickers were stolen from his trash bags.

“Not only that, you had to go from store to store to store to get the stickers,” Cox said. “Some stores were always out of them. You would have trash backed up in your house for days.”

After all that, Haag brought up the grass pickup. The mayor said currently the city spends $1,500 a week to pick up the grass of 150 city residents. He then asked for a motion to do away with it.

“I would love to make a motion to cease that,” Haag said.

After the vote, Kidd and other members in the audience applauded.

While not discussed at length during the meeting, Haag said the recycling program could be implemented in a timely basis.

“Understand that the program would have to be geared up over time and if the public is interested,” Haag said. “The sale of the recyclables would subsidize the program.”

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