Brockport puts the lid on trash collection proposal

A proposal which may have reaped financial benefits for residents was pulled at the April 3 Village of Brockport board meeting.

Several months ago, Trustee David Wagenhauser put forth a proposal to check on consolidation of village trash collection services. Two public hearings were held in which residents came forward and voiced their opinions on the idea. For many, the idea of saving money was outweighed by the notion of "governmental interference" in their decision making.

At the April 3 board meeting, Earl Wells, president of E3 Communications, addressed the board with results of a survey commissioned by Waste Management, Heberle and Suburban Disposal.
"We surveyed 191 residents and the results show a 95 percent confidence level in the accuracy of the poll," Wells said. "The majority of residents surveyed said they wanted to have the option to choose their own trash collector. The conclusion was that a solid base of the respondents were opposed to the proposal even if it saved them money."

Wagenhauser said the survey likely has value up to a point. "But the way questions are asked can influence the answers," he said.

The proposal and Wagenhauser's research into it, to date, has not caused any funds to be expended.

Donovan Dunn handed board members petitions signed by 71 residents that showed they want to make their own choice with trash collection.

"We need to follow through on our responsibility to our residents and their wishes and not pursue the proposal for trash collection," Trustee Maria Castaneda said. "The taxpayers are against it; why are we continuing to pursue this?"

Trustee Carrie Maziarz said whether to pursue the issue of the trash proposal was about stifling a board member's decision to pursue a proposal which could, potentially, have saved taxpayers' money. "You can't stifle someone from working on something," she said.

Wagenhauser said it would have been more appropriate for him to have put forth a motion to stop pursuing the trash proposal as he was the one who raised the issue initially.

Trustee Mary Jo Nayman said she wanted to put the idea of the proposal to a referendum on the June ballot. "If we did that we would know what the taxpayers want to do," she said.

"I was trying to make a point of clarification on censuring a board member who wants to pursue something that had the potential to offer residents a savings," Maziarz said.

Castaneda called for a vote on a resolution to discontinuing pursuing the trash collection proposal. Nayman, Castaneda and Mayor Mort Wexler voted yes. Wagenhauser and Maziarz abstained.

April 9, 2006