Selectmen pass trash fee, raise amount to residents
Published on April 12th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - One week after the Town of Stoneham voted down, in non-binding fashion, this year's newly adopted trash fee in a fairly resounding manner, the newly-composed Board of Selectmen voted to again incorporate the trash fee next year at Tuesday night's Tri-Board meeting with the School Committee and Finance and Advisory Board.
The trash fee, which was approved by a 3-2 vote with Rotondi and DePinto voting against it, was raised by $10 to $160 per household and will raise approximately $1 million for the FY07 budget.
Seemingly ignoring the mandate from the voters in Stoneham, the Selectmen felt that the financial problems necessitated a trash fee for the second straight fiscal year - a need underscored by the School Committee when they outlined a FY07 budget that is roughly $786,000 over Town Administrator Ron Florino's budget without the funds derived from the trash.
A total of $600,000 raised from the trash, a fee that is frustratingly still a blanket fee based on the one, two or three family designation on a property rather than the much more logical and fair-to-everyone pay as you throw payment system, would go directly into the school's FY07 budget.
"We've had numerous meetings and discussions about next year's budget, and there's just no way we could let these cuts go through...the town just wouldn't be the same," said Selectmen Chairman Bob Sweeney, speaking in defense of approving the trash fee. "We've tossed around a lot of ideas in generating money, and the thing we're talking about doing is instituting the trash fee again," added Sweeney. "None of us want to do it, but these cuts are just too much. Hopefully a few developments will come online over the next year and we can lower the trash fee to $130, but realistically I don't see that happening. This isn't easy and it's not something that we want to do."
The Selectmen also allowed only 15 minutes of public comment prior to moving on with other business, a far cry from the public hearing and discourse among town voters that such a fee deserves and should require.
With land development deals in the planning and litigation stage, Selectman George Seibold believed that the trash fee was necessary and also pushed for an increase in the trash fee for FY07.
"We've talked about quick hits to help the budget with the selling of land and billboards and things like that, but they all get shot down at Town Meeting," said Seibold, who also indicated a $10 raise in the fee from last year. "I know the majority rules, but between the public safety and the school side I can't see not having the trash. We should definitely implicate it."
"When we asked for budgets with and without the trash fee last fall, we wanted to see the effect removing the trash fee would have on the budget and, as expected, the cuts would be damaging," said Selectman Tony Kennedy, who made the motion to adopt the trash fee. "I don't see how we can survive without it, so I'd like to see us vote on it so we can just get on with life in Stoneham and stop talking about it."
According to Lincoln Street resident Chris Williard, the Town of Stoneham applied for and were awarded a $28,000 grant to adopt a pay as you through program and urged the Selectmen
"It's not only a program that's fair in how the fee is allocated, but it's also an environmentally sound system that helps divert waste from landfills and into recyclable materials that also helps save the town money," said Williard.
According to Sweeney, the Town of Stoneham has hired a pay as you through specialist to go through the options in implementing that system and Florino estimated that the pay as you throw could be an option in six months.
"We could implement a flat fee on July and then implement a pay as you throw program based on how much money we need for the rest of the fiscal year," said Florino.
There was one dissenting voice against the trash fee, with the newly elected R. Paul Rotondi sticking to his anti-override, anti-trash fee platform. Rotondi felt that adopting the trash was insulting to both the voters and to the democratic process.
"I appreciate the phone calls and the concern that residents have over the budget, but I am opposed to this on two levels and I'm not questioning the numbers," said newly elected Selectmen R. Paul Rotondi. "First and foremost, it should have been done before it was put out on the ballot. 3,400 people came out in the rain and the cold and gave their opinion, and I think ignoring their opinion is wrong.
"The basic premise of going out and asking people's opinions and then ignoring what they say is wrong," added Rotondi. "You're going to create a schism in town that will take years to repair. If you ever want an override or anything in this town, you know what you're going to get."
Selectman John DePinto feared that if he voted for the trash fee again this year, it would become an automatic annual tax just as the excise tax (in 1948) and sales tax (in 1960) had become.
"History tells us that when you give government money, they never give it back," said DePinto. "If you're going to tax the people permanently, then do it at the ballot box. If we approve a debt exclusion then it goes away at some point, rather than the permanence of a trash fee."
Many residents spoke vehemently about the results on election day, and couldn't believe that a trash fee was again instituted this year - a fee they looked at as both disingenuous and flying in the face of the voters that put the Selectmen in office.
"I voted yes for the override and no for the trash fee...I received numerous phone calls asking me to give my Selectmen a call to urge them to support the trash fee," said Stoneham resident Donatella Gallucci. "I do not want the resident the of Stoneham to have to pay a trash fee...this is a backdoor tax. I say no to trash fees because I'm tired of this political game.
"What this fee should be called is 'we came up short on the budget fee'," added Gallucci. "I say make the cuts. It's not a game anymore. What kind of credibility will the Selectmen have if they institute a trash? For 75 cents a day for a trash, I think it's good start and a way to have a band-aid."
A host of residents also spoke in favor of adopting the trash, with many of them concerned parents worried about the future of their children's education.
"I love the town and I love the school system, and every year we're back with these cuts," Christine DeMartino. "You people have cut and cut and cut, and now we're dipping into core education.
According to Florino, the Town's budget also is suffering from a shortfall of $70,000 due mostly to the inflated amount in the snow and ice removal budget and assorted utility costs, but the Town Administrator is hopeful that savings in other areas can take care of any FY06 shortfalls.
"We'd like to start on a good note, and are pleased to report that we will not have a deficit for this year's budget," said Superintendent Joe Connelly of an unanticipated $200,000 shortfall that had cropped up in this season's budget. "Money from the SPED revolving account and savings from the hiring freeze allowed us to come up with the funds and stay away from using money in the stabilization fund."
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