I guess it's poetic justice that the search for less expensive garbage collection would yield so much trash. Our former council president and her followers are now coming out to take credit for a plan they simply had nothing to do with, that they chose not to participate in. To suggest that this idea was essentially photocopied with the names whited out is textbook revisionism and manipulation. If this was true, then why have Bob, Mitch, and Toni been doing their damnedest to prevent consideration of any method of collection other than private? Let's review and clear away some of the fertilizer.
After the 2010 election Mayor Schroeder began meeting with the department heads to take stock of the Boro offices and get a sense of priority for the coming year. It had been too long since the people that actually do the work, day in and day out, had been asked instead of told what needed to be fixed. Would you follow the advice of a mechanic or someone that's never even looked under a hood?
In a town our size with a budget as small as ours, there aren't many areas where you can create large savings, but it was suggested to Bill that garbage and recycling collection was a big slice of the pie and needed to be examined. Estimates were made that suggested in-house collection could save a quarter of a million dollars or more, but it would take a long-term effort to get reliable numbers, and we felt every means of collection should be considered. AT NO TIME WAS IN-HOUSE THE ONLY METHOD CONSIDERED!! Look back over news articles and blog posts, at no time did anyone suggest we do anything less then look at every option. The repeated insistence to the contrary is Political Manipulation 101, hoping the casual reader or observer will accept misinformation without investigation. As the saying goes, repeat a lie long enough and some will believe it.
Drawing up bid specs for so many variations of service and the timelines required for advertising and receiving them has been 10 months in the making, and has been the effort of many people in multiple departments. The first whiff of compost came during the budget. In order to cast out all these lines, we are required to have a "deposit" for bonding. This money needed to be set aside for each variation of service. Once the issue was decided the remaining monies would be carried forward into the next year's budget as surplus, which would help reduce the 2012 budget, essentially repaying the taxpayers. Bob, Mitch, and Toni stood against this deposit for any item associated with in-house collection including the purchase of "robo-cans". Now if they really had already done the homework, really had had extensive talks with Brick, and really were in favor of shared services not just now but at budget time and all the way back to last year, then why in the world would they block the cans needed to carry out that agreement? Why? Because either they don't understand the process, or the assertion is a lie. The only reason given, without any evidence and without a single, solitary mention of a prior shared service plan with Brick, was that they were convinced in-house was a waste of effort and would cost more in the long run. The way their argument was presented was to intentionally mislead the public into thinking this allocation was a commitment to in-house collection. This was nothing less than grandstanding and capitalizing on anti-union sentiments by people that had no ideas of their own to offer. If I had a golden ticket in my pocket I would have been jumping up and down telling the world! Why would the folks that pledge to "put the taxpayers first" withhold a means of considerable savings?
The strategy after the budget was more of the same. Every time one of us would say we were looking at every option, they'd get three people to say the opposite. Look over the blogs from the summer. Even my children aren't that good at hearing one thing and understanding another!
Countless estimates and examples of other municipalities were passed around and shared, but by the end of the summer I still wasn't convinced which method would be cheapest. I was however certain it would involve "Robo-cans". Rear compactors are obviously going the way of the dodo. There are negatives. I particularly don't like that prohibited materials could be thrown out without getting caught, but hopefully in this day and age most folks are responsible with their waste. Philosophically I worry that every time we replace a person with a machine, we further undermine a diminishing middle class. This crisis is certainly the snake that eats itself.
Without taking too much of a detour let's consider the effects of shrinking budgets and lost manpower; less police on patrol, reduced hours and access to services, reduced parks clean up & maintenance, etc. The number of people and hours it takes to orchestrate what we've done with just this one issue is monumental, but now do it in the least conducive climate. Despite the hard work and diligence there is a clock that's running out. There are procedures, protocol, and timelines for every action involved, and it's very important we avoid a lapse in service.
You wouldn't know that if you only heard what Bob, Mitch, and Toni are saying. They've called the non-committal preparation of documents now, to save time later, "premature". I wonder how many of us while driving our trash to the county dump in January would do so thanking them for not rushing into something they say was their idea to begin with? A plan so "premature" that Ms. Rogers was compelled to come out of retirement and congratulate Mayor Schroeder for adopting her plan!
I received a mild threat on the Patch from councilman Sabosik's brother-in-law for suggesting that the Republicans on council have tried to block any plan they can't take credit for. I just don't know how else to explain trying so hard to block something they now say was their idea? I hope the voters of Point Pleasant will remember November 8th that if the Republicans are telling the truth, then they purposefully withheld this tax dollar saving plan the same way they withheld every other plan they pledged would bring you relief! I felt there was a strong message last November to end these kinds of games, but it seems some are going to need you to shout a little louder this time.
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