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Residents urge council to address rising Waste Management bills and unsafe on-street parking
Summary
Public commenters told the Merrillville council that Waste Management'9s sole-provider contract has driven residential trash bills up (example from $69 to $81) and said heavy on-street parking in subdivisions is creating safety and emergency-access issues; the council asked staff to look into the concerns.
At the April 7 meeting the Town of Merrillville heard multiple public commenters pressing two neighborhood issues: rising trash-collection costs under a single-provider contract and dangerous on-street parking that impedes school buses and emergency vehicles.
Resident William Mulligan told the council his Waste Management residential bill rose from $69 in January to $81 recently. He said seniors on fixed incomes are particularly affected and urged the council to consider restoring competition for pickup services or otherwise relieving rate pressure. "Since the council voted to let Waste Management be the sole provider of residential trash and recycle pickup, our rates have gone up steadily year after year," Mulligan said.
Mulligan also described a separate safety issue in his tree-lined subdivision: vehicles parked on both sides of narrow streets force drivers to speed past children and obstruct snow plows and mail delivery. He said he counted 35–40 cars on his street despite most homes having driveways and two-car garages and urged the council to consider stronger ordinances or education to remove cars from the roadway.
Council members acknowledged the complaints during the public-comment period and said staff would look into the questions raised; no ordinance change or vote was taken at the meeting.
