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$190K in potential savings trashed by council

Spring cleanup salvaged, along with Tisdale dump
Tisdale Dump
Council has rejected the idea of permanently closing the Tisdale Transfer Site on Highway 101 East, near South Porcupine. Andrew Autio for TimminsToday

City council made some progress this week during ongoing budget deliberations as they hope to keep this year's tax hike to a minimum. 

Four items on the chopping block relating to garbage were tossed in the bin. Had they all been cut, it would have shaved $190,000 from the city budget.

Councillor Joe Campbell questioned why the four items were up for vote again, when they have already been discussed in great length. He didn't see them as areas where the city should be looking for savings.

"This is all about cutting services. It's not about efficiencies, or productivity gains, or anything," said Campbell.

The idea to close the Tisdale Transfer Station on Highway 101 East was unanimously squashed. It could have saved $30,000, but due to the geography of the city, it made no sense to do so. It was one of KPMG's recommendations in their Core Service Review.

The annual spring cleanup initative, which allows residents to have large piles of unwanted materials taken away by city trucks, was also kept in the books to the tune of $70,000.

Councillor Walter Wawrzaszek, a retired public works employee, was blunt in his assessment.

"I don't think we should be cutting this, because we'll be picking up more garbage on all these side streets that go to the dump. It will cost us a lot more than $70,000, I can tell you that for sure," said Wawrzaszek.

When Mayor Steve Black called for the vote, the only hand that went up in favor of ditching spring cleanup was that of Councillor Noella Rinaldo. Once the motion was soundly defeated, she explained her rationale.

"If there was anybody that has been the most adamant about keeping spring cleanup, you know its been me for six years. I'm dead serious about cutting more things. We've done nothing here. So, I want to make that clear," she said.

The statement elicited a short bout of clapping from one member of the audience.

Bi-weekly collection during winter months, which would have taken effect starting in November 2017 and would run for 6 months until the end of April, could save the city $40,000.

"This basically would translate into salary cost reductions?," inquired Campbell.

Director of Public Works and Engineering Luc Duval replied that the savings would be met from both salaries and vehicle costs.

 

Bamford Feb 15Councillor Pat Bamford said the city needs to keep garbage under control. Andrew Autio for TimminsToday

Councillor Pat Bamford made it clear he wouldn't be supporting the idea.

"When I look down my own street, on King, I see people putting their garbage containers out every week. And if there's one thing that I've heard, apart from snow plowing, is concerns about garbage pickup. When its not picked up during the week, I get a call. When people heard that this might be coming up, they wanted us to keep weekly garbage collection. If you don't have enough to put out, don't put out the garbage can. This is a major service in our community," he said.

Wawrzaszek scoffed at the idea the city would save anything on employee hour costs, and said there would be 'twice as much' garbage to be collected the following week anyways. Councillor Rick Dubeau respectfully disagreed, saying there were tangible savings to be had, and that some households don't even put their bins out each week, simply because there is no need. He also mentioned how it might be a good idea for the city to introduce a compost bin, which could handle biodegradable food stuffs.

"A lot of municipalities have composting. You can get rid of most of your garbage. Sudbury has a very comprehensive program. I think we should be talking to them about that, and we could really cut down on our garbage. But I think we should be cutting this," said Dubeau.

Voting in favor of the reduced collection were Councillors Dubeau, Veronica Farrell, Andrew Marks, and Rinaldo. Opposed were Bamford, Campbell, Mike Doody, Wawrzaszek, and Black. Weekly collection will remain in effect. 

Residential tipping fees for all visits to the Deloro landfill, which would take effect on July 1, was the next item up for a vote. It would see users charged five dollars each trip into the dump. It could 'save' the city by generating $50,000 annually according the Engineering Department. 

Rinaldo said she had no problem with the idea.

"We've kept weekly pickup in the winter months, we've kept spring cleanup, this is the least we can do is charge five dollars. If that isn't enough for someone, to have their garbage picked every week, plus we do spring cleanup, and if they have to go to the dump over and above that, then yes I think we should be charging them,' she said.

Bamford strongly disagreed, and doubted there would be $50,000 extra in the books. He also pointed out that the Timmins 2020 Strategic Plan emphasized keeping the city clean. He also said that efforts to reduce the city's budget should focus more on capital expenditures, rather than reducing services to residents who are already paying some of the highest taxes in the province.

Voting in favor were Rinaldo and Farrell. Opposed was everybody else.


Andrew Autio, freelance

About the Author: Andrew Autio, freelance

Andrew Autio is a Timmins-based freelance journalist
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