Island Lake Residents will have to pay to Recycle…Like it or not
You can ask Trustee Verciglio, Macilino, and O’Malley personally why they decided to raise your garbage rates for no apparent reason…NONE whatsoever. And then you can also ask your
mayor why she broke the tie to make it official.
At last night’s meeting, O’Malley motioned to revisit extending the current garbage service which will result in an increase for certain individuals. She had originally voted against it, but personally, I think the wolves came to her door. When asked why she was bringing it up again, she said after further consideration and in speaking with residents, she realized it made sense. She blamed the fact that she should have tabled the discussion rather than voting no last week on her inexperience. Yet, she couldn’t really give a substantive reason for the change of heart. Watch the meeting; judge for yourself.
The gist is this: The new contract will require certain homes to have a recycling bin at a beginning cost of $1.25 per month. Doesn’t seem like much, but that’s $15 per year, and your bill promises to go up 5% in the first year, then approximately 3% each year thereafter until the contract expires in 2015. If I did the math correctly, you will pay approximately $90 to rent a bin you aren’t even required to use, but must take. Your recycled goods go in the bin (IF you decide to recycle). The bins make it easier for Waste Management to pick up more of your recycles. Keep in mind that your garbage is recycled whether you separate the trash yourself or not. This just makes the process easier on the garbage company and saves them money in labor and workman’s comp (per statement from SWALCO while addressing the board).
The village could have tried to negotiate the new contract by insisting on a lesser increase in our bills, or no increase at all or requiring the bins be free of charge since the village residents were doing a service for the garbage company, but apparently, SOME of your trustees feel it’s no big deal to pass this cost onto you. Hard times only fall on some of us, I guess. This kind of leadership reminds me of my college days while being initiated into my sorority…”Thank you, may I have another, please” referring to the needless paddling I received just because they could.
Trustee Saville gave several reasons why it was a bad idea to charge residents for a bin that the garbage company should have provided free of charge. Trustee Ponio and Trustee Rabattini offered great insight as to why they feel the village should not require the residents to pay a company to make its job easier with no benefit to residents. However, as he stated, Saville knew he was wasting his time trying to convince the rest of the board to reconsider their position.
Trustee Saville crunched the numbers and figured if only the single family homes were counted, the new contract would cost the village $42,000 and up per year (passed onto you, the resident!) But, that dollar figure will be inflated because there are more than just single family units that will be charged the new bin fee. This cost is for helping the garbage company do what it already does: recycle your garbage and make a profit from it. The board just decided to add $42,000 + to their (Waste Management’s) bottom line.
Rabattini wanted to know when the last time Island Lake went out for a bid for garbage service. When Rabattini asked Hermann, (who has been a clerk for 4 years and a trustee for 8 years), if she recalls it being done, Hermann told her that she wasn’t going to tell her. It wasn’t that Debbie didn’t know the answer to the question; she stated “I just didn’t feel like answering it.”
So, what is the purpose of the recycling bin? The village does not require recycling, yet they are going to require you to rent a recycling bin each year. You don’t have a choice! You MUST rent the bin whether you recycle or not. And you MUST receive your garbage service from the village. Oh, but wait…only certain homes will be held to this new policy. Multi-family homes (apartment complexes, for example) and commercial facilities will not be subject to the new requirement.
Why did they decide to make you spend more money? Makes one think what the kick back is, and by “one” I mean, this one…but don’t ask Debbie because she just might not tell you!
