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Council weighs cutting town‑funded curbside compost pilot and studies trash‑collection changes
Summary
Public Works presented a $45,000 curbside food‑scrap pilot for 130 homes and options to transfer costs to participants; the council discussed once‑a‑week trash, bulk pickup fees and tote purchases as smaller revenue/savings avenues and asked staff for implementation studies and numbers.
The Cheverly Town Council on May 6 debated whether the town should fully subsidize a proposed curbside food‑scrap program or push costs onto participating residents.
Public Works Director (speaker 3) described a pilot program serving about 130 homes at an annual town cost of roughly $45,000. The director said the vendor can administer the service but the town could act as a facilitator to secure a volume discount; councilmembers discussed several options: (a) keep a town subsidy, (b) charge participants a monthly fee, or (c) transfer the program entirely to resident payment. Public Works proposed splitting the $45,000 savings if the town ceases full subsidy — for example, moving $30,000 to equipment replacement and passing $15,000 in savings to the general ledger — while allowing residents who want the service to pay for it directly.
Councilmembers and public commenters also discussed changes to trash collection as a potential operating‑cost lever: moving from twice‑weekly to once‑weekly collection, winter‑only once‑weekly service, or charging for bulk pickups or higher‑volume pickups. Public Works staff said a rough back‑of‑envelope operational savings from once‑weekly service could be roughly $50,000 annually but cautioned a detailed study is required because of route hills, equipment lifecycles and resident impacts. Staff described current arrangements for tote purchases (bulk pricing and minimum order quantities) and noted occasional use of temporary labor on collection trucks.
Council direction: staff will produce numbers for once‑a‑week trash options, bulk pickup revenues/charges, and possible fee levels for the curbside compost pilot so council and the public can compare the scale of savings and cost‑shifting. Council indicated willingness to move some portion of the $45,000 into equipment replacement if residents will pay for the service going forward.
What happens next: Public Works will return with implementation details, revenue estimates, and options for resident fees or town subsidy changes when the administration publishes the budget packet next week.
