[StBernard] St. Bernard might levy a garbage fee

[Westley Annis]

Well, as the article says, every other area charges a fee...   As long as
it's a reasonable amount, it makes sense.

(sigh)  I remember the days when we had collections, like, every day!!






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	St. Bernard might levy a garbage fee
	It has never charged for trash collection Tuesday, June 10, 2008By
Mary
	Elise DeCoursey
	When Dave Peralta's parents moved to St. Tammany Parish after
Katrina, they
	found themselves paying for something they never had to in St.
Bernard
	Parish: garbage collection. 
	
	"They were shocked at what it cost them," said Peralta, chief
administrative
	officer for St. Bernard Parish government. 
	
	St. Bernard is the only parish government in the metro area without
a direct
	collection fee. Collection and disposal is financed by the half-cent
sales
	tax and a share of property taxes, parish officials said. But that
might be
	coming to an end, as Parish President Craig Taffaro has floated the
idea of
	a garbage-collection fee to the Parish Council. 
	
	"Something needs to be done to address the issue," Councilman Ray
Lauga
	said. "Nothing's been decided, and we're looking at all our options
now. But
	it's kind of something that's overdue." 
	
	The parish has a 10-year contract with SDT Waste and Debris Services
for
	twice-weekly garbage collection, for which it pays $20 per
household, around
	$235,000 a month, Peralta said. 
	
	But Peralta said the real problem lies in the "tipping fees,"
basically what
	it costs to dispose of the waste in a landfill. Peralta said the
parish
	spends about $160,000 monthly disposing of hurricane debris, and
$30,000 to
	$35,000 each month disposing of garbage. Combined with collection
costs, the
	monthly bill is around $425,000. 
	
	Meanwhile, he said, the tax base has not kept pace. 
	
	"You've got a lot more refuse in the community, but you've got half
the
	amount of revenue being generated to pay for it," Peralta said. 
	
	The council will take up the issue later this summer after a
cost-based
	analysis is conducted. The item is expected to be discussed again
today at
	the council's Executive/Finance Committee meeting. 
	
	"It may mean at one point there's going to have to be a shared cost
between
	the individual homeowner and the parish. This isn't different than
anyplace
	else," Peralta said. "I hope it will be lower than anywhere else,
and I
	think we will be." 
	
	Parish Councilman Mike Ginart said he hopes the parish doesn't have
to
	introduce a collection fee, adding that it may be inevitable. 
	
	"I know it has become a large part of our budget, and the cost of
collection
	and disposal has skyrocketed," Ginart said. "But I want to make sure
we
	explore all the available avenues before we make people start
paying. 
	
	"If not, we'll just have to bite the bullet." 
	
	. . . . . . . 
	
	Mary Elise DeCoursey can be reached at mdecoursey at timespicayune.com
or (504)
	826-3362.