Something stinks in East Hartford. Mayor/Public Works propose a new tax to pay for garbage.
Is this coming to East Hartford?
Mayor Currey and Public Works Director Billy Taylor took the lid off a plan they’ve been discussing behind closed doors for a while at Monday evening’s Public Works budget presentation before the Town Council.
The pair are pushing a plan which will require every household in East Hartford to purchase special garbage bags in order to dispose of their trash. According to the Hartford Courant the estimated cost per bag is $2 for 33 gallon bags, $1.25 for typical 14 gallon kitchen size bags and $0.63 for an 8 gallon bag.
In a sinister fashion this plan is being pushed as an alternative which can trim 2% off the 9.2% proposed tax increase if the Town Council adopts it this year. Based on the Mayor’s calculations in her budget message a decrease in the tax increase of 2% would yield a $78 savings, yet the cost to a taxpayer who disposes of 4 kitchen bags of trash per week will be $260. Clearly this is an ill thought idea or one whose motives are not truly rooted in any sort of fiscal prudence.
We get a clearer look at what the true story might be with the following from the Mayor.
“I believe this is where the rest of the country is going to be in the next 10 to 15 years,” Mayor Melody Currey said. It would enable the town not only to save money, she said, but to be an environmental leader. If all goes according to plan, and residents cut back as much as WasteZero says they will, the town’s 17,489 tons of trash output could be reduced to less than 10,000 tons.
“I know we are a poor community, but that doesn’t mean we have less of a responsibility,” Currey said.
Let’s be clear. The Town will not save a single dollar, the taxpayers will pay substantially more taxes while satisfying the personal moral objectives of certain elected leaders, the wallets of the taxpayers be damned.
Every dollar in reduced tipping this plan could save can already be saved through efficient single stream recycling. No new tax is needed, no new tax is wanted. Just as we saw a significant increase in illegal bulky waste dumping, such as at Gorman Park, when the Town decided to charge a permit fee for disposal we will almost certainly have examples like the above photo around town if this plan is implemented when those of us already struggling can’t afford to dispose of our garbage legally.
I FEEL THE NOOSE GETTING TIGHTER…IT’S CLEAR OUR TOWN GOVERNMENT DOESN’T GIVE ONE IOTA ABOUT IT’S CITIZENS. THEIR MAIN OBJECTIVE IS SQUEEZING THE LAST DROP OUT OF THE LEMON. I AM POSITIVE, WITH A LITTLE MORE THOUGHT AND INSIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE COULD TRIM THE FAT SO PROPERTY OWNERS WOULDN’T HAVE TO BEAR THE BRUNT OF CARELESS SPENDING. MAYOR CURRY REFERRED TO US AS “A POOR COMMUNITY”, MY QUESTION IS, HOW DO YOU EXPECT WE CAN AFFORD THE PROPOSED TAX INCREASES? WE COULD BE A MORE MIDDLE CLASS COMMUNITY, OF COURSE THIS WOULD REQUIRE WORK AND INSIGHT. IT APPEARS THE ADMINISTRATION IS SATISFIED WITH OUR CONDITION, INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CURE THE SITUATION, WILL JUST FIND MORE THINGS TO TAX, AND KEEP SPENDING MORE HOPING IT WILL GO AWAY. IT WON’T! IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE UNTIL WE HIT BOTTOM AND THE ONLY THING LEFT WILL BE OUR PRESTIGIOUS DUMP!!