The City of New Albany has been making continued efforts to collect and dispose of yard waste and bulk items for residents.  This job has become increasing difficult over the last several years.  The Street Department has been the agency responsible for collecting yard waste and bulk items which are not collected as part of the normal garbage collections being performed under a private-public agreement.

However, due to budgetary cuts in the Street Department the duties have become impossible to fulfill.  The Street Department has seen a reduction in workforce from approximately 28 employees in 2008 to 8 employees today, which equates to approximately a 70% reduction in workforce for the Department.  Unfortunately, 8 employees cannot perform the same duties which used to be done by 28 employees in the Street Department.

In recognition of the problem facing the City and the Street Department, Mayor England and the contractor for the City (“SIWS”) responsible for collecting residential household waste have been in negotiations.  After conducting these negotiations, the following proposed addendums to the current contract are to be considered by the City Council to assist the City.    The current contract with the contractor is scheduled to end December 31, 2012.  The contractor has made the following proposed addendums to assist the City: (1) Contractor will roll back the rate charged to $15.18 from the current amount of $16.03, (2) the rate charged the City by the Contractor will remain $15.18 until 2015, (3) Contractor will terminate any future Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment which it is entitled to under current contract, (4) Contractor will collect three bulk items per week per household (which will include one passenger car tire per week as one of the bulk items), (5) Contractor will collect yard waste which is properly bundled and placed by residents per specifications, (6) Contractor will install lids recently purchased by City to replace broken ones at no cost to the City or the residents, and (7) Contractor will implement maintenance and repair program for remaining lids on the cans owned by the City.

Mayor England has praised SIWS in the past for their work on behalf of the City and their willingness to find ways to assist the City and the residents.  Mayor England believes the proposed addendums to the contract will provide greater service to the citizens of New Albany at no additional cost and will allow the Street Department to focus on the duties related to the City streets.

If the addendums to the contract are accepted by the City Council, Mayor England intends to propose a reduction in the sanitation fee currently being charged to the residents by the City.  Mayor England stated “some people in this community are suffering with financial difficulties and the opportunity to pass on a savings and reduction to the citizens for a service they receive is a welcome relief.”   England further stated, “not only will the citizens be able to receive increased and better service, we will have the opportunity to reduce the citizens financial burden in the process.”