Your Opinion: Vote "no' on Proposition A

Dear Editor:

Many residents feel that the City Council did the correct thing in 2009 in administering the citywide trash and recycling contract.

Since establishing the citywide trash collection and curb- side recycling we have seen success in the following areas: Illegal dumping has been tremendously reduced. After our citywide collection began user-ship increased and over 1,070 tons (2 million pounds) of trash was diverted from illegal dumping. Our community is cleaner. The price per household is significantly lower than areas outside the city.

Recycling has increased seven-fold. More significant is the statistic that 24 percent of our total waste tonnage is currently diverted from the landfill and recycled. This trend will extend the life of our landfill.

These successes raise concerns regarding Proposition A. If Proposition A passes, the city will be in violation of its current trash contract and could face costly legal action. Termination of the trash agreement would mean city residents would have no price controls or quite possibly no trash service.

At the very least we will pay rates comparable or above Cole County's rates - $25 per month with no curbside recycling. In looking at the cost of gas, in 2009 between 2009 and 2011 there has been an 85 percent increase in fuel costs alone. That cost would certainly will be passed on to us.

Additionally, there would be no enforcement mechanism to require we dispose of our trash in a responsible manner. Lastly, we would experience the end of a tradition; there would be no spring clean-up.

One of the consequences of living in a community is that we must all cooperate for the benefit and welfare of all. Certainly, keeping our property and our city clean and properly handling our waste stream is one of those responsibilities.

I will be voting no on Proposition A to keep a shared responsibility at a reasonable cost.

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