Northampton board votes to double trash sticker fees

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Despite calls from a handful of local residents to reconsider, the Board of Public Works unanimously voted to double residential trash sticker fees Monday night.

The fee increase, effective Feb. 1, is one of several steps the city is taking to help offset a projected $1.3 million budget gap in its solid waste enterprise fund, a deficit board chairman Terry Culhane attributed to the purchase earlier this year of two homes on the landfill's perimeter to end costly litigation and an assortment of other unanticipated spending involving the landfill off Glendale Road.

Prior to the vote, area residents had the opportunity to weigh in on the proposal to raise fees from $1 to $2 for a sticker needed to dispose of a 40-gallon bag of trash at the landfill and the transfer station on Locust Street. Although a few residents came to speak in favor of the fee increase, Richard Gozowski, former chairman of the city's Recycling Committee, was among those against the plan because he saw it as the result of cavalier spending by the city.

"A year ago I came to a meeting here and the former chair of the BPW (David Reckhow) said the budget was awash with money," Gozowski said, adding, "which leaves me wondering where all that money went and whether it was spent just because you were taking it in, hand over fist."

Culhane said the deficit was the result of $2 million in litigation costs the board spent defending itself and the city against lawsuits, plus the cost of state-funded sniffers, which he said cost a "stunning amount of money," and the purchase of the two homes.

"At this point we are losing 80 cents for every bag disposed of at the transfer station," Culhane said. "What is driving us to consider doing something about this now is because the landfill is reaching the end of its life and it is pretty clear at this point, regardless of what is going to happen, the landfill is going to close in 20 months."

Also speaking against the increase was Henry Kowalski, a gate worker at the Locust Street transfer station, who presented a letter signed by station workers arguing that a change in the sticker price will place an unfair burden on employees and will generate extra funds from city residents struggling to make ends meet.

"The fee for trash drop-off is primarily paid for by middle-class residents because those who can afford it get curbside pickup.

The rates for those people and for commercial haulers will not be raised, thus the board is balancing out the BPW deficit on the backs of those who can least afford it," the letter read, adding that an increase will result in "double the work at the gate."

Board members decided to delay the start of the increase to Feb. 1 to allow ample time to alert area residents to the change.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com