Councilor Michael S. McGonagle.
It will cost Haverhill residents more to dispose of their yard waste at the city’s composting area of the public works yard on Primrose Street.
Haverhill city councilors voted 8 to 0 Tuesday night to approve a new fee schedule increasing the cost of day permits from $7 to $9 and season passes from $35 to $45. Council Vice President Robert H. Scatamacchia initially questioned whether the fee increases may turn residents away from the composting program. But Public Works Director Michael Stankovich told councilors yard waste permit fees have not increased in at least 11 years and it will help keep up with operating costs that have since increased.
“To operate that back yard, obviously, we have labor which has gone up, trucks and equipment. Disposal now, we’re required to dispose of the material that comes in on a yearly basis as well. So the costs to operate that facility have gone up tremendously over the last 11 or 12 years. And we believe there’s still, even with these modest increases,
Councilor Michael S. McGonagle said he wanted to hear the fee increases were not being used as a revenue stream by the city.
“Still, those go up substantially, the cost of fuel,
Under the new compost fee schedule, a senior citizen discount for a season pass climbs from $25 to $30. Non-resident and commercial compost permits increase from $35 to $44.
Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O’Brien was absent.
Poor little whiners
Ok all you winners..
Cut back what? If you don’t like fee don’t rake.city is not obliged to help you landscape go screw
There’s no need to cut back these services genius, services won’t be affected whether the fees were increased or not. That’s because this city function has already been funded for during the yearly budget process. This is nothing more than double taxation and a money grab by the failing mayor.
Roger, Are you Nancy1959 ?
Does this Council and Mayor be any more blatant with their money grabs. Raise this fee, raise that fee, raise water and sewer rates. It must be nice to simply say hey we are spending more than we should, we need to cut back, ans top using the taxpayers of Haverhill as their on-demand piggy-bank. If we received 1/10 of 1% of all the raises in fees and taxes in the last 5 years I would be totally dumbfounded. Where does all the money go? It doesn’t repair the broken water main in Bradford that has been running 24 hours a day for 4 months. Call them and you get a very curt “You’re on the list.” List this, do your job!
This is what happens in an era of debt expansion and deficit spending; economic output declines (as well as The People’s incomes), and the only way for government to answer is to make a money grab at anything not nailed down until it’s inevitable mathematical conclusion. The fact that Haverhill has not been put into receivership is a disservice to the Residents of Haverhill, but of course, when the Chair of Ways & Means resides from here, we can’t have anything that looks remotely close to what is total failure can we?
More deficit bonds, more deficit spending, and more taxes and fees increases until The People are completely Bankrupted and there is simply nothing left to steal. The perpetrators of the fraud will most likely be gone from here or dead by the time your children are met with further impoverishment.
Very true Duncan – and regarding the property tax as well – you and I have discussed this in the past – again – its seems the 2.5% aspect has been breached punishing the homeowner once again.
8 idiots who could not care less about the people they are elected to represent. Haverhill is run by morons – every one of them on this council should be ashamed of themselves – no class, no morals, no common sense.
Mike McGonagle: Of course it’s just another revenue stream!! If the monies collected are not earmarked specifically to fund the services from which the fees are being collected, and instead go into the city general fund, then what else can you call it?
Sorry Mike, but using fuel costs as justification for a fee increase is totally inaccurate. Fuel costs are actually DOWN over 30% in the past few years. If this wasn’t a rubber stamp by the council for the mayor to find yet ANOTHER way to generate revenue then at least one out of the 8 of you would have pointed this out.
Where’s the like button??? I agree Jack.
Also, there was not ONE councilor who opposed these increases ? Where does all the money go ?
Old saying: Nickles and dimes add up to dollars when nobody is watching. Tax and fee increases, along with parking fees just add to the stress of people who are struggling daily to survive. We must need more trees planted to make us feel better about how bad we are actually doing.