The Select Board’s July 31 discussion about senior discounted Transfer Station stickers brought to light abuses of the discounted stickers and the strain on Town Hall resources during the sticker sales rush each June. Although the board voted to limit seniors to one sticker per household in an effort to address those issues, they came up again at the Aug. 14 meeting of the Transfer Station Committee. And when Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro questioned the financial model of the new SMART (Save Money and Reduce Trash) program, given the rising cost of disposing recyclables and the high percentage of discounted stickers, the committee decided to take a closer look at how residents should pay to use the Transfer Station, or even if it should be used at all.
Sobalvarro said that 527 of the 1,305 stickers sold last year were discounted stickers, and she asked Irene Congdon, the committee’s adviser from the state Department of Environmental Protection, if she had taken that into account when creating her financial model of the town’s SMART program for 2019. Congdon said she had, but Sobalvarro also expressed concern about covering Transfer Station operating costs, which include hauling away recyclables. Recycling is expected to increase when the town moves to SMART, and the price of hauling away commingled plastic and cans nearly doubled last year.
As for the abuses, Town Administrator Tim Bragan told the Press this week that Transfer Station workers have reported seeing some senior citizens bringing an unusually high number of trash bags to the Transfer Station each week, and the most likely explanation is that these residents are bringing not only their own trash, but that of neighbors as well. He said this is the most common abuse of the discounted sticker, but there have been other more serious abuses. He said the town had to take stickers away from several senior citizens who were running businesses disposing of other people’s junk and using their discounted stickers to dump that junk at the Transfer Station. In addition, some senior citizens were giving their second stickers to children or friends who did not reside with them, a practice that was caught this year when Town Hall staff checked address and vehicle registration more carefully.
Same price stickers, free stickers, or no stickers?
At a June 19 Select Board meeting, the committee proposed pricing next year’s Transfer Station stickers at $100 for a regular sticker and $35 for a senior sticker. In addition, residents would have to purchase trash bags, and seniors would receive some number of free bags per year. But in light of all the recent discounted sticker issues, Transfer Station Committee members are now considering a variety of pricing proposals, including one price for all residents, which would require a Select Board vote. Another option being discussed is raising property taxes to cover the operating costs of the Transfer Station, currently about $130,000. This option would eliminate sticker fees completely. Residents would still be required to pay for SMART trash bags, and that revenue would be used to cover the price of hauling waste away. And a sticker proving Harvard residency would likely still be required to use the Transfer Station.
Sobalvarro told the committee that she has also obtained quotes for townwide trash pickup, and she will send those numbers to members so they can discuss the options further at their next meeting. Select Board member Stu Sklar, who is a member of the Transfer Station Committee, told the board at its meeting later in the day that townwide trash pickup might be the most cost-effective plan for dealing with residents’ trash and recyclables. Bragan added that if the town were to adopt trash pickup, the Transfer Station equipment would continue to be maintained in case the town wanted to switch back to using it.
The committee will continue working on the various proposals at its September meetings and hopes to present the details of each option to the town in time for Annual Town Meeting next year.
