New Budget Cements Trash Pickup Change, Two-Barrel Limit

City Councilor William J. Macek.

Concerns over plans to implement automated trash pickup program topped Haverhill City Council budget discussions Tuesday night.

Councilors unanimously approved a new “total” city budget of up to $193.6 million, counting water and sewer totals. Procedural votes included $936,450 in “revolving funds” for Recreation and Parks, the Veterans Memorial Skating Rink, the citizen center, Council on Aging, Wood School daycare and municipal open space management. While calling the new budget “good,” councilors, including William J. Macek, questioned the mayor’s budget plan to bring 64-gallon “toters” to residents by winter, following a pilot program.

“I think it’s a mistake—one, to do it in the winter. I think it should be implemented either sooner or later. Actually, I think it should be implemented never, because my proposal that I brought forward was a voluntary proposal, however. The other interesting fact that was brought up is that I mentioned to the mayor we’re going to be paying more this year for a half a year of toters than we paid last year for a full year of standard, traditional waste and recycling pickup. (The) mayor said that was somewhat of a working situation with the trash company over a seven-year contract. I also asked for copies of the numbers that he said I could have, but I haven’t received them yet. Looking forward as to where we’re going to end up going budgetwise,” Macek said.

Macek said he hopes the city would “keep an open mind” with waivers for elderly and other residents with difficulties and try working out a voluntary program, as he earlier proposed.

“We need to have a comprehensive plan of attack to deal with those people, to give them waivers and I don’t that’s yet there. So I’m just asking the mayor and this council maybe continue to revisit this issue over the next couple of months when we have time before this is fully implemented, because I think it’s important if we’re going to go that route that we do it right and we don’t wait and do crisis management rather than do proactive planning, which I am more in favor of,” Macek said.

Calls to Improve Recycling Participation Rate

City Councilor Colin F. LePage, chairman of Administration and Finance Committee.

Councilor Colin F. LePage also told Mayor James J. Fiorentini the city’s recycling task force and board of health should help improve what he called a “stagnant” 19 percent recycling rate. He said the city must let residents know trash limits will be cut from the current three, 30-gallon barrels, down to the equivalent of two barrels.

“We just want to educate folks that there’s more than half the things they throw away, two thirds of the things they throw away can be recycled. And if we just give them the tools to do that, they will do that and we’ll save money. I just want to, again, suggest to you maybe you want to put that out for the six months before the toters happen that, in essence, if toters happen it will be a two barrel program,” LePage said.

In other budget action, councilors approved creation of an “other post-employment benefits” (OPEB) stabilization account by transferring $200,000 from the general fund, “mitigation and health Insurance close-out.” Also, under a rule suspension due to an agenda error, the council approved a $100,000 “school stabilization fund” to help pay any higher than expected special education costs for the school district.