Wednesday, March 23, 2011

It's only garbage, Spring Cleanup in the Crowsnest Pass

Well here, we go again the old issue of Spring Cleanup.

This annual ritual (some years bi annual) where we take our municipal workforce away from jobs that they should be doing and turn them into garbage men (nothing derogatory towards garbage men) for anywhere from two to six months.

Over the last seven years this absolute waste of time as cost the taxpayers anywhere from $100,000 to $400,000 per year in total somewhere around $2 million.

Wow, we could have put in place three new graders, three new loaders and probably a couple of brand new trucks without incurring one dollar of debt in that timeframe.

So new council made up of mostly people that pledged to go after the inefficiencies within the municipality to keep the cost of taxes down takes another look at this issue.

Lo and behold, they have come up with a new plan they are going to remain being one of the few communities in the province that still does this silliness but they are going to do it differently.

We the taxpayers are going to be supplied with a list of items that are eligible to be removed by our public works employees, (temporary garbage men). For two weeks, the taxpayers will have the opportunity to call the municipality to notify them of the need to have their garbage picked up.
Then the municipal employees will come around and pick them up. The dollars allowed in the budget for this Myron Thompson stated $10,000 just for labour.
My response to that is “dream on” at our labour rates that works out to a little under 300 hours of labour over a one month period that “two” employees assigned to this.

Think about a few things:

How hard is it going to be to call the municipal office those two weeks?
We have over 3200 residences in the Crowsnest Pass imagine if only half of them call for a pick up, the logistic nightmare of coordinating that exercise?.

If house number one and four on a block calls to schedule a pick up, number three sees his neighbors putting out material so he just goes ahead and puts his out will the municipal employees just drive by because he did not schedule?

Councilor Saindon stated I believe correctly that this cleanup will cost just as much as the old one. He as also stated on his blog that he is clearly opposed to this, I hope he can convince his colleagues, it is time for the Crowsnest Pass to recognize as so many other communities have this is not a luxury we can afford.

Its time to end the debate on Spring Cleanup.

NOTE: Surprising results on my poll regarding the new cleanup only 2 voters (5%) felt the new idea was good, 11 voters (30%) felt the municipality should stick with the old cleanup. Lastly 23 voters (63%) felt that the municipality doing cleanups should just end.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why do we even have to debate this issue.
Is it not common sense.
I do not want my tax dollars wasted any more.

Anonymous said...

So much talk about cutting back on services that only a few taxpayers use. –We don’t even need a survey here. All’s you have to do is look down any street during spring clean up and see that this is one rare service that majority of taxpayers are using. Did you mean to say cut back on services YOU don’t use?

Anonymous said...

Actually pal you are wrong I have used the service many times.
But I have no desire to maintain this service at any cost, there needs to be priorties, replacing equipment that would keep our streets in better shape (without incurring debt) is more important to me than picking up my extra garbage once a year.

Anonymous said...

Hey Pal,

Don’t be a fool. They have the money,OUR money.
Bottom line, we want this place cleaned up right?
Option 1) tell people to clean up, then have our bylaw enforcement officer run around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to enforce that. End result- a lot of disgruntled people and our town is still a mess.
Option 2) encourage people to clean up, make it easy for them, provide FREE spring clean up(for residential not commercial) get rid of all of the ridiculous conditions around it, don’t try to make people feel like peasants for using it. End result – a clean town.
We all win-even the ones who did not use the service.
Look around, the tax payers of the CNP want and use the spring clean up. The cut backs should start with ridiculous spending that only a few “chosen ones” are benefiting from.

Anonymous said...

How can the council look at getting rid of the cleanup on one hand to save money.
Yet talk about running a shuttle out of town for the 30-40 people that will use it.
No I don't believe for a moment that the local businesses will pay for it.

Jack

Anonymous said...

These clean up things are a joke.Haul away your own trash or pay someone in the private sector to do it. If you have a little pride in where you live ( and most do) you will keep your place looking neat.The slobs should be dealt with by the bylaws that are in place.I have used this service many times but I beleive that the amount I payed in tax was way greater than if I would of hauled away my own junk.They should scrap the whole idea.And if they think 10,000 will cover the costs then they are not very bright.Running 2 peices of equipment for about 3 days and your money is spent.

Anonymous said...

I believe the last council was on the right track until they lost sight of what the people wanted, and started doing what they personally wanted.
Look around people this is not rocket science! The CNP taxpayer’s want and are using spring clean up!

Anonymous said...

Look I'm 72 and I don't mind one bit running out to the dump once a year.
Why don't we have the town cut our grass to?

peter rosner said...

I might sound like a bit of a hypocrite here considering i have used this service in the past but i feel it should be looked at. I understand the reasoning behind having the cleanup because at that time people were dumping their junk on backroads or out in the bush. The cleanup helped with that but began to get abused when some choose to tear down whole buildings and garages. This started the restrictions and now it is just as easy to hall it myself.No problem take a nice relaxing drive out to the dump, i dont have to wonder when they are getting to our neighborhood or if they will take all the stuff.

Anonymous said...

Hey Anonymous (Mar. 24, 7:51), that's an interesting theory you have there. However, let's look at the facts. We've had clean-ups for as long as I can remember, at times in both spring and fall, and this place is still a dump. The slobs either don't use the service or have an infinite supply of crap, because I don't see any indication that the clean-ups have improved the appearance of the Pass. We've got a Community Standards Bylaw now, and a full-time Bylaw Officer. Let's deal with the problem that way, and actually make some money for the Municipality. All taxpayers should not have to pick up the tab for the few slobs. Get rid of the clean-up, and spend the money on something useful.

Crowsnest Pass Home said...

Very well said, I know people in my short 28 years here that I have seen have a dump truck or two taken away every year.
It almost makes you think that they are buying stuff just to throw away.

Anonymous said...

Very well said? Buying stuff to throw away? Wow!!

Seriously people, what is the point of offering a service, then ridiculing people for using it? Worse yet, accusing them of being abusive because they use a service their tax dollars paid for? It’s not just your tax dollars, it’s theirs too!!!

You would have an argument if only a few select people were useing it.
This is one, if not the only service that is being well used by CNP tax payers. What part of that don't you get?

I hope this council does what they are expected to do, serve the people of the Crowsnest Pass, not just themselves.