Monday, November 03, 2008

UPDATE: budget cut--garbage pickup to be curbside

Next year the town will require garbage pickup to be curbside. The estimated savings: between $300,000 to $400,000 (when you factor in benefits). The elimination of this service enables the town to eliminate 5 sanitation employees (via attrition). At the present time we anticipate the need to provide an elvated level of sanitation servcies to residents who are unable to bring their garbage to the curb for collection.
Exactly how this service will be provided and on what frequency (could be once a week) and at what cost) needs to be resolved. Given the fact that there will be a labor cost, as well as fuel utilized --we anticipate that the price for this service will be approximately $300- a year per home.

What is going to happen to the small expeditor trucks that the town currently has?
The small ‘expeditor” trucks will continue to have an application in our operation. Even though they will not be driving up driveways they will still be used to expedite the work of the larger trucks as they move through their routes. The small vehicles will also be used for the collection of homes that opt for the elevated level of service for which we will most likely impose a special charge. The small trucks are also used extensively in the collection of yardwaste as well as pick-ups missed by the larger trucks. The fact that their use may be somewhat reduced will only tend to extend their useful life in the fleet and the replacement of older units will become much less frequent.

If the town does not make any cuts in services-- the tax increase will not be as low as we anticipate (currently 7.7%). The tax hike would exceed double digits without cuts in services---which is unacceptable. I have indicated that I will NOT support a double digit tax hike this year, next year or in the forseeable future. Residents cannot afford double digit increases.

The service we currently offer (non curbside pickup) is only taken advantage of by some residents. The town can't offer the service to some, but not all. If everyone in the town takes advantage of the non curb pickup --it will cost the town millions of extra dollars.

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gee, I guess this is way of the future. We could also a fee for add "on-demand" leaf pickup to avoid the $150 fines, since no one can figure out whose gardner put leaves where. And what people who don't live in Fairview pay for after school programs. Of course the big one is what almost everyone with children outside of Fairview pays for private schools.

Anonymous said...

Lots of heat on the budget post so why not start a new post right here instead of just adding this to the other post. This concept has been successfully tested in other disciplines such as the "minute waltz", the five minute Loeuvre tour and three minute public comment at Town meetings.

Readers, how about ignoring this section and scrolling down to consolidate your comments about consolidating departments and transportation.

Probably we'll even witness the birth of a new topic following the meeting in Edgemont tonight.

If nothing else, the Supervisor is the master of marginalization.

Anonymous said...

Paul you and Regula are full of it.
The amount that was first stated was $150 extra a year now it has doubled.
Regula purchased new small dump trucks this year. WHY???????
You're not lowering taxes, you are playing games.
You say that you will save in taxes; pray tell, where will the money collected from the homes that cannot put their garbage curbside go? Does Regula need new wheels or maybe a new plasma tv.
Paul I voted for you over and over again which was my mistake.
You can be assured that I will work as hard as I can to get someone else in office.
How do you know that five people will be leaving sanitation?
Do you have a crystal ball why not look to see who will be the next supervisor and at the same time see what will happen to Sheehan and Juettner.
I have one other thing to say that you have some hellava nerve saying that you are lowering taxes by taking away services that we pay through the nose .

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Samis -
The intent is not to separate comments about the budget from comments about the budget. Recognizing the short attention span of most bloggers, the Supervisor starts a new topic everytime he is bored trying to scroll through the topic using his blackberry while driving through Hartsdale. If he cannot scroll through the topic and anonymously defend himself before reaching the Scarsdale side of the bridge, he adds a new topic.
Please understand this is actually a public service - not an attempt to disrupt discussion.

Anonymous said...

Not one single neighbor of mine has their garbage picked up anywhere else, except the curb. $150K is now $300K savings? I doubt it.
Hey! If you're one of the few in Edgemont who has the men go into your garage to collect your garbage, just slip an extra 20 into the holiday envelope. That should continue to keep you warm & toasty on garbage day.

Anonymous said...

NYS is making budget cuts.
Most local governments are making budget cuts.
Businesses are making budget cuts.
Homeowners are making budget cuts.
The economy stinks. There is no choice.
I'm not happy. No choice.

Anonymous said...

Soliciting money in exchange for services covered by your TAX dollars illegal.If I have to give someone money to pick up garbage that my TAX dollars pay is extremely WRONG. YES it is done but it is WRONG. Who do you inform,the supervisor who is in on it ?

Anonymous said...

Some years back the Greenburgh Police, acting on information, investigated allegations that some sanitation workers were getting cash for commercial trash pick up. An arrest was made.

Anonymous said...

if you move mid year will the town return 150.00

Anonymous said...

this system will cost the town alot of over time (thank you)

Anonymous said...

if you cut 5 jobs,and have 1000 homes at 300.00 how much will save

Anonymous said...

Good - Almost everyone in my neighborhood has been putting garbage at curbside for years now. And the few who don't aren't handicapped or disabled. Don't know why they have been so privileged for all these years. Happy to see 300 to 400 K savings on this matter.

Anonymous said...

Legally designated disabled people should be exempt from curbside with no additional pickup fee. For everyone else, just do curbside; it's no big deal to roll trashcans down the driveway. I'm surprised that Greenburgh has allowed non-curbside anyway.

Anonymous said...

Let's see. The sanitation men were finished at say 12::00P.M. when they had to go into your backyard to get the garbage. Now, they should be finished at 10:30 A.M. Better buy them some more card tables for their lounge back at their garage.

Anonymous said...

White Plains picks up at your house. I work during the day. If I leave the top on my garbage can, it will blow away and be lost. If I take it off, it will attract animals. What am I supposed to do? Quit work to stay home and monitor the garbagae can lid situation?

Anonymous said...

buy a NEW garbage can !!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Town of Greenburgh, NY
Chapter 410: SANITATION



(3) Each of such receptacles provided for in this section shall be watertight, kept covered with a suitable cover and maintained in a sanitary condition by periodic cleaning. Except in instances where approved containers are used, such receptacles shall not exceed twenty-gallon capacity and, when filled, shall not exceed 75 pounds in total weight.
(4) Each such receptacle containing garbage, recyclable materials or rubbish shall be free of water or saturated materials.
(5) Any container that does not conform to the provisions of this chapter or that may have ragged or sharp edges or any other defect liable to hamper or injure the person collecting the contents shall be promptly repaired or replaced upon notice.
(6) The Commissioner shall have the authority to refuse collection for failure to comply herewith.

Anonymous said...

(5) Material not collected. The Town shall not collect or dispose of any debris such as plaster, stone, brick, sawdust, sod or dirt resulting from general contracting, renovating or landscape contracting, nor shall the Town collect or dispose of any cleaning-establishment waste, highly combustible materials, medical waste, hazardous materials, junk automobiles or branches and tree stumps unless they are split in sections six inches or less in diameter and three feet or less in length. Removal of such debris shall be arranged privately

Anonymous said...

You are full of it. The sanitation dept does not refuse to take uncovered garbage.
In fact they pick up curbside all the garbage that is put curbside four times a week.
All the pails are uncovered which allows all the garbage to blow all over the place.

The sanitation supervisor passes right thru every pick up day but does nothing about the uncovered pails.

If there is some sort of law that states what you say neither the workers or supervisors enforce it.

The laws in Greenburgh are never followed anyway.

Anonymous said...

sad part is you could cut half of the sanitation department with no interruption in services not even driveway pickup. They finish every day before lunch half a day. Do the math half a day times 30 guys is equal to full day of 15 guys.


Back to the good old days of trash for cash. I thought a few guys lost their job for this I guess if Paul and Al enact the law its ok.

Anonymous said...

How about going after the home owners that leave their curbside garbage uncovered.
No this you will not do to raise the revenue that you need.

You only go after the ones that can't put garbage curbside.

Well if you think that I will pay you one cent for my pickups of about fifty years you are mistaken.

The other comment made on this blog earlier about paying the workers some money and they will pick up the garbage ,I think you have that wrong
Pay Regula and it will be done and his workers will take the blame as they did a few years ago.

Great town right. Let the truth be known Greenburgh would have never made any magazine list.

Anonymous said...

So you are taking away the services that we have been paying for through the nose .
Why do we have to pay for the two centers in Fairview with all their programs that we do not use.
Do you have an answer for us.

What have you taken away from Fairview that will lower our taxes.
NOTHING- NADA -NIENTE -Ziltch

Paul you have paved a good path out the door for yourself and a few of your council members.
I do not think that one area will carry you all comes election.

Anonymous said...

01/02/09

no cover no pickup
on garbage can on pickup
not at curb no pickup

Anonymous said...

Well you never collected the money owed by the Housing Authority do you think that is right .
How much of the taxes would be lowered if you collected the half million plus dollars.
But Paul we know that is in Fairview and you will do nothing to get it back.
We paid for that service that was given to them throughout the years.Have you forgotten?????

Anonymous said...

9:10 tell that to the supervisors that roam the streets to see where the men are working but they never enforce the sanitary laws.

The men in charge are not blind.
They just wsnt the paycheck at the end of the work week and that's it.

Have you ever seen the DPW workers doing work on any street.
Well I have taken notice that there is always the same man doing the work while the others watch.
Could it be possible that they only have one laborer assigned to a job .
This one guy works his butt off,
Regula cannot let the guys that watch go but he can take away a service that we have had for many years without any problems.

Anonymous said...

Oh boy 9;10 no cover no pickup---when was the klat time that you lived near a home that never covered their garbage.
Well I live thru that four times a week .
Their garbage is all over the place on windy days.

In some homes there is no recycling averything is put curbside fous days a week and picked up.
Are you trying to tell me that the supervisors driving thru the roadways does not see this. HE DOES NOT CARE.

Anonymous said...

Re GREENBURGH HOUSING AUTHORITY NON PAYMENTS TO TOWN:
Board should hold up reappointment of Cora Carey, member of the TDYCC Board and Housing Authority Chair, until GHA pays debt owed to town.

Anonymous said...

9;24,

If the sanitation men would put the lid back on the garbage can properly it wouldnt blow away. People would be more inclined to use the lids. But that would interfere with their card games. Foolish me -- like anyone cares.

Anonymous said...

now people will store their garbage at curbside 24/7 against town code, just like the houses on Prospect Ave by Fair St. Gabe has been told this numerous times and has done nothing!!! Al Regula, please cut Gabe and save money.

Anonymous said...

Paul and the town board are never going to get it. Crime is not going to go up if the town makes cuts in the Police dept. They just have to make all the paramedics/emt's civilians so the police officers can fight crime.Stop the police training in resue and put them on patrol

Anonymous said...

only GPD and Gabe have the power to give tickets ,no DPW workers do,PD has better things to do so call GABE at (914-993-1574)

Anonymous said...

11/04/2008 2:43 PM

good luck with that one !!!

Anonymous said...

Are you referring to Gabe that is supposed to take care of the garbage on Prospect ave.

Well we will hang if we wait for him to do the right thing.

Anonymous said...

Paul is getting the message. The combination of school taxes, county taxes, town, fire district taxes are overwhelming. All must make cuts.
Must be done. I agree with our Supervisor.

Anonymous said...

Re 9:19am ... The highway department could and should be doing so much more. Is there no professional management?

Anonymous said...

Anon at 4:57 (aka Paul) just doesn't get it. All other units of government have found ways to cut their budgets and keep tax hikes to a minimum. My fire district -- Greenville -- has announced a hike of less than 2.5%. It's Greenburgh that's the problem. There's no financial management. Feiner doesn't understand the difference between essential and non-essential services. His performance last night in Edgemont was abysmal.

Anonymous said...

Without gelt the DPW head will not work. He loves to have a monetary handshake.
As his men.

Anonymous said...

First of all do we all pay for garbage pickup in our taxes??????

Will this be double taxation for the same service??????

What makes you think that you will get away with doing this without a legal fight???????

Another thing if you let some men go, do we have to empty the garbage in the truck ourselves.
Will the truck be driven by remote control.
Regula has to stop smoking his brain is shrinking.

We pay enough for services that are getting worse and worse due to his non managerial skills.

Paul I do think that you will have some fight on your hands if you decide that this is the way to go .
What money would you save?
Your town is filthy now just imagine what it will look like next year if you go ahead with this plan.

Why not get rid of the head of the Dpw. He makes too much money ????
You want to run this small town as though it were a city.
A city it is not.
What you need is a good manager.

Anonymous said...

Get rid of the Sanatation dept and get a contract with a private company. We can save millions!
While you're at get rid of the police dept. contract out with the county or state police. We could save millions more!
close the community center save millions!

Anonymous said...

The next step will be a dumpter on every street corner and we will have to, deposit our own garbage .

This Dpw commissioner has got to be nuts and the supervisor is following his madness.

Disabled residents sue.
Those that had the service for years should sue also.
It has come down to the hell with the town..

We have to start to fight back as to get what we had for the money that we have been paying.

They have spent our money through the years and now they want to take away the most needed services that we get, police and sanitation.
We seem to forget that they raised the water that we use also.

Paul what is next.
The air that we breathe.

Anonymous said...

Paul
if the town goes to curbside pickup,will you please tell the home owners that live in BOULDER RIDGE small cul-de-sac to place garbage at the curb please no special treatment

Anonymous said...

I for one living on the south side of town applaud the sanitation and highway departments. They do their job and ask any of your friends in other communities if they get the quality service as we do. Is it now pick on REGULA day,?? did he not pick up a dead body in front of your house ? did he forget to pave your road. OHHHH maybe he said NO which should be said more frequently from now on. The sad sack of misfits who bitch about everything get a life or move. Then see how your taxes and services stack up. When you get the best at all times it makes you greedy and wanting more or force to complain about the littlest things. Maybe FEINER should adopt the style of past Supervisor Vetern ( sorry showing my age ) If hAL, eD, wHEEMS, eLLA bOB pulled the shit on him once it would have been your last. Democracy is great but verbal abuse and childish rants ( Hal ) have no place in the town. OBAMA said this is a new beginning well lets work together in the town.

Anonymous said...

Yes the sanitation is the greatest,I do hope that you are referring to the workers.

If Veteran were here and Regula pulled the crap on his watch Regula would have been long gone.

Veteran listened to all of us not like this guy in office now who is afraid to open his mouth to show some equallity in his thinking.

Whatever Regula handled has cost taxpayers double and triple the amount in taxes.

Just check out the most recent the library.
He kept saying that everything was great not to worry. well now more money is needed to open it's doors and finish the construction.

So why do we have harsh words toward Regula ---his record speaks for itself.

He has been here to long he should retire or get fired but we know that Feiner will do nothing to help
Has anything been said about the monies brought in for the recycling.
Why take away garbage pickups if the monies recived for recycling is coming into the town.
These monies should cover all extra expenses.

Anonymous said...

Why not give contractors fines for putting their debris curbside rather than getting a dumpster to remove the garbage.

How many contractors bring all their debris home and leave it for pickup {curbside} by our sanitation.

How could it be possible that if we the motorist notice what is going on why is it that the sanitation supervisor doesn't see it.

Are the supervisors so stupid as to not to see what is happening.
Curbside pickups are great for those that can bring the pails curside but for those that cannot to be charged mega buck on top of what they pay is a criminal act.

We have had the service for all these years and you have no right in removing it.
Look to better ways of cutting expenses than to harm the residents that keep all your facilities running in the way that YOU want not us.

Anonymous said...

My garbage has been picked up by my garage for over fifty years and I'll be damned if you think that I will allow you to take this away from me.
We pay enough taxes in Edgemont to have the best of services but you have decided to remove what we have to benefit free programs at the north end

Anonymous said...

When we start comparing past supervisors with what we have now
we are making a big mistake.

The days of good supervising are gone.

Anonymous said...

I agree, we should look into private saniation. Paul, how much does it cost an average tax payer for sanitation cost. The problem is if you have 1 can or 10 cans we pay the same. I do npt think it is fair

Anonymous said...

when private sanitation workers go on strike who will pick up the garbage

Anonymous said...

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT
private sanitation company



The town will not pick-up building and construction material. Homeowners must make their own arrangements.
When is my garbage collected? Regular trash is picked up on either Monday & Thursdays or Tuesdays & Fridays depending on which area you live in.


All material must be placed curbside by 7:00 am
All loose material must be in plastic bags, containers or tied.
Appliances will be collected curbside by appointment only
The following will not be picked up: leaves, grass, branches tied or otherwise. No stumps, no blocks, no dirt, no concrete, no plastic, no tiles

Anonymous said...

So Mt. Pleasant gets less service -- BUT WHAT DO THEY PAY. Our problem is Paul can not or will not manage. Any time he tells dept heads to cut, they cut what people want the most. The street crime unit -- not turning to civilians to EMT. The library mobile. Or they cut based on political infighting, and want to support no-show jobs in TDYCC.

Anonymous said...

rEGULA HAS to look good in his masters eyes since he has made so many monetary mistakes for too long.
Do you think putting garbage curbside is the answer.

Let me tell you one thing if there is any garbage thrown in the streets because of this I will not call Regula's dept. I will call in the Board of Health.

You have a poop law well where do the dog owners place the plastic bag that is used. INto the garbage.
Baby diapers where do they go into the garbage.

Why the hell can't you leave things the way they are?
You are asking for more trouble than you THINK you have now.

Drive arround and look at the layout of the roadways and then you tell me who can or who can't put garbage roadside.
Regula stop smoking maybe your brains will heal.
The next thing that you will put into law is garbage pickup once a week .
Instead of purchasing equipment that is thrown on the side of the town garage put that money into good use.

You have junked more equipment than anyone else.

Sure it's not your money and the supervisors is for you one hundred percent so you could do what you want.
The new small dump trucks that you just purchased what will they be used for,
The trucks that are being used at the moment are still in good condition. Were you anticipating the price to go up in a few years.

Smarten up you are spending our money and taking away the services that we have had for many many years.

I must say with your new laws you have helped us make up our minds real good that Feiner will not be reelected as supervisor and he will be taking two council members with him.

Anonymous said...

To blogger who said the days of good managing are gone?
How come most people like the services in our town?
How come bond rating is so high?
How come MONEY Mag named Greenburgh one of america's best?
How come bloggers were wrong and we are not getting a double digit hike in taxes?
How come town bd works cooperatively?

Anonymous said...

5:29 You must be a Fairview resident.
Tell me who likes the services.

Tell me who cares if the magazine said we were 80th on the list,they know nothing about this town.
With the taxes that we all pay we should have been in the top ten.
So the board is working together now where were they when all the wild spending was taken place.
Did they not vote for every program?
Don't try to tell me what you think is so good about this town.
Let's see what the tax hike will be in the end and then double or triple the figure for the next round.
There is no more money in the cannister to pay for what is needed. We will have to start all over from scratch since there is on fund left.