[StBernard] Twice a week trash pickup in St. Bernard could become thing of past

[Westley Annis]

Twice a week trash pickup in St. Bernard could become thing of past 

by Bigad Shaban / Eyewitness News

Posted on November 17, 2009 at 9:56 PM

Updated yesterday at 11:15 PM 


CHALMETTE, La. -- Residents in one metro area parish could soon have to hold
onto their trash a little bit longer. Budget battles could lead to cuts in
sanitation services, which might leave you with one less day of trash
pickup.

Garbage pickup is a twice a week sight in St. Bernard Parish, but one that
could soon be no longer.

"It'd look bad," said Chalmette resident Robert Bordelon.

He fears potential cuts to the parish's sanitation budget could cut into the
area's garbage pickup services. A spike in illegal dumping, Bordelon adds,
might be the trashy result.

"I would think it would happen a lot cause there's no place to bring the
trash unless you carry it yourself to the dump," he said.

Parish leaders hoped to charge residents an extra $20 per month on their
water bill to raise more than $3.5 million for the sanitation and fire
departments, but residents this past Saturday voted down the plan.

"We'll have to juggle some money around," said Councilman Frank Auderer.
"Steal from Peter to pay Paul and that's what it amounts to."

Parish President Craig Taffaro said that could mean cutting down the
parish's twice a week garbage pickup.

"This is probably the most challenging fiscal balancing act that we're going
to have to do," said Taffaro.

The fee would have also helped pay for the staffing of newly constructed
fire stations. Post-Katrina, the department's budget is taking a serious hit
with a drop in its biggest funding source -- sales taxes.

On Saturday, 1,739 people voted against the $20 fee and 1,127 voted for it.

About one day after the election, a massive fire engulfed a three story
apartment building near Village Square, leaving dozens of families homeless.
Fire Chief Thomas Stone said the fee would have better prepared his
department to take on similar blazes in the future.

"Not that many people got out and voted," said Stone. "But it's something
that we really needed, and this is one of the reasons why."

But even sympathetic taxpayers say they're hard pressed to pay up. Bordelon
says his once booming business is turning into a bust.

"I mean days the phone don't (sic) ring, nobody comes in, that's why I'm
saying $20 right now it's hard," said Bordelon. "I'm struggling myself, I
don't even know how much longer I can hang in there."

And with a multi-million dollar deficit to fill, the parish doesn't either.
Taffaro said he and the council will have a budget conference meeting this
Friday in hopes of crunching the numbers.

The council must pass a balanced budget by Dec. 1.