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American Fork is wondering what to do with $50,000.
Earlier this month, council members here voted to implement an opt-out recycling program, meaning all residents would be billed for recycling unless they ask the city to cancel the service.
The city is hoping that as many as half its residents will keep the service, which everyone agrees will save space in the landfill.
The program will also enrich the city by more than $48,500 a year. If half the city recycles, the city will pay that much less annually to dump garbage at the waste transfer station. City staffers have been told to write an ordinance governing the program for council members to debate, and it is unclear what staffers will suggest the city do with the projected $50,000 savings. Council members said the city wants to use the money for non-garbage projects, potentially roads or parks or recreation.
At a recent public hearing, at least one resident said the ethical thing to do is return that windfall to residents by making recycling cheaper, thus encouraging even more residents to join the program.
Councilwoman Heidi Rodeback was one of the minority who voted against the program, not because she is at all against recycling, she said, but because the program is too vague. Allied Waste has said the program will cost about $5 a month. Right now, only 971 residents out of 6,500 in the city pay for recycling.
"As tempting as it is to find revenue for our pet programs, I don't think garbage collection is a fair way to fund our vision," she said in an interview.
Residents should simply be charged the actual cost of garbage collection and recycling, and if recycling lowers the city's cost for trash service, those savings should be passed on, she said.
"That seems to make sense to me," she said.
In an interview, Mayor Heber Thompson disagreed.
"I don't think so," he said when asked if the money would be returned to residents.
The city simply needs the money, he said. In November, residents here are likely to be asked to support a tax increase to fund city programs.
"We have so many demands on our budget," he said. "It is not as if we have a windfall of $48,000. We have to see what happens as this unfolds."
If half of the city's households do sign up for recycling and the city can save nearly $50,000 on garbage fees, that may simply mean city leaders ask residents for a smaller tax increase in the fall, he said.
"If we have an extra $48,000 then we don't have to ask for so much next time out," he said. |
