WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012
VOL. 21 NO. 2
BERLIN, N.H.
752-5858
FREE
Council discusses solid waste contract BY BARBARA TETREAULT
in with the household solid waste, the council is considering requesting bids from private waste haulers to handle the city's solid waste including recyclables. City Manager Patrick MacQueen presented the council with a draft Request for Proposals that the city looked at back in 2009. Mayor Paul Grenier said he believes there are some threshold questions that must be answered before the city can make a decision on privatizing solid waste disposal. He said he feels going to a private contractor must save the city more than ten to 15 percent to make it worth the risk. Grenier said once the city hires a private contractor to handle solid waste, it can not go back if it is displeased with the service. City Manager Patrick MacQueen said the city would have to look at either contracting out snow removal or hiring part-time workers in the winter because that job is handled by the solid waste employees. Grenier noted that during an emergency weather event, the city would not have the added staffing to call upon.On the other side, he pointed out that health insurance and retirement systems costs keep going up for city employees. “I'm just trying to get my arms around this,” Grenier said. The mayor stressed he is very serious about increasing recycling in the city and reducing the tonnage of solid waste the city sends to the Mount Carberry landfill at $67 per ton. He said he does not feel the public or public works employees are taking the issue seriously. “So far we're not getting any help. We're not getting any help from Public Works. We're not getting any help from the public,” he said. Grenier said he is not generally a supporter of privatizing public services. He noted the city manager's proposed budget calls for eliminating three positions in Public Works because of budget constraints. Grenier said reducing waste disposal costs and increasing revenue generated from the sale of recyclables could help save jobs. He said Local 1444, which represents public works employees, needs to work with the city to re-educate employees on removing tonnage from the waste stream. Public Works employee Brian King told the council part of the problem is recycling is not mandatory in Berlin. He said there is no sense in pointing fingers and called on all sides to work together. Councilor Mike Rozek asked if recycling in the city is voluntary. MacQueen said current city statute calls for recycling but does not provide for any penalties for violators. Rozek said if recycling is not mandatory now, it will soon become mandatory. He also said there needs to be better lines of communication between the city and public works. Councilor Lucie Remillard said the council expects everyone to do their part to increase recycling. She said she feels the council has been pushed to look into private contracting because of complaints about the handling of solid waste. “There's no doubt there's some disappointment here,” she said. Grenier suggested MacQueen continue to develop the request for proposals. The mayor said he would require a ten year proposal to prevent low ball bids that would increase dramatically after the first few years. He also called for a meeting between the city manager, Public Works Director Mike Perreault, and local 1444 to review the proposed recycling ordinance. The council plans to roll out its new recycling initiative in early July. In other business: Gorham 7th grader Joseph Ellingwood receives recognition from GRS Cooperative School Board chair Jo Carpenter prior to the The council tabled a proposed amendment to the city's annual meeting. Ellingwood submitted the winning design for the school district’s annual report cover. (MELISSA GRIMA PHOTO) ATV ordinance that would allow year-around trail access THE BERLIN DAILY SUN
BERLIN – Convinced the city can easily save $100,000 by recycling more, the city council continues to work on a multi-prong plan that it intends to roll out in early July. Having discussed a recycling ordinance that will penalize residents who do not separate recyclables from garbage, the council has turned its focus in recent weeks to the Public Works department. Dismayed by reports that solid waste employees deliberately throw recyclables
see COUNCIL page 7
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