Your Opinion: Views on Proposition A #3

Dear Editor:

In a letter on March 27, a Prop. A proponent promised every Jefferson City residence "freedom," implying that as a legal and practical matter, every resident could choose whether or how to dispose of trash. But the reality is quite different.

Legally, trash service for each residence wouldn't become optional if Prop. A passed. The City Code would still require that every residence contract with a city-licensed trash hauler. That includes each side of every duplex, even if they chose to share a bin. And it includes a house that produces little trash; it wouldn't suddenly become legal to toss a bag of trash in the trunk and drop it in a bin at another home or business.

Practically, proponents promise a choice of haulers, claiming that some competitor will offer lower prices - and return to pick up bags, with a much lower charge. But where's the evidence? The best they offer is that there is a hauler serving homes outside the city limits - whose prices and service proponents never seem to discuss. So proponents want us to dump the current service, which includes curbside recycling, for a future that does not promise better service or lower prices for anyone who complies with the law.

The only people assured to save money if Prop. A passes are those who will break the law - those who, by making it hard to for the city to find that they don't contract and pay for service by a licensed hauler, get away with disposing of their trash however they wish. I see no need to enable them. I'm voting no on Proposition A.