You Can't Beat City Haul

Monday’s Ledger-Enquirer had a news item regarding garbage pick-up (or the lack thereof) in rural Lee County and specifically, the incorporated areas of Smiths Station. For anyone who’s lived in this area, the issue of garbage collection is nothing new. Basically, land/home owners pay an annual fee for collection and this gives them the right to load their cars and trucks with trash, transport it any number of miles to a collection point and then unload it into compactors.

For those that may think this is something of a rip-off and wish to protest this practice by withholding that portion of the land taxes each year, Lee County has pre-printed documents that require you to understand that you have no rights, no voice on this issue. What it says is that if you refuse to pay this fee, your case will be turned over to someone who will take you to court and then seize your property in lieu of payment.

But the L-E article didn’t mention any of this. What this piece was reporting was that questionnaire, or survey, had been sent to residents of Smiths Station merely asking if they would prefer to keep things as they are or have door to door pick up. According to this same report, it was a straightforward question with no mention of a cost involved for changing to curbside service. Sounds simple enough, right?

Here’s a portion of the article as it appears on the Ledger-Enquirer site, including the title of the article, details of the distribution of the survey and the response.

City eyes services change

Residents want curbside garbage pick-up

The commission sent out more than 15,000 postcards as part of a survey to gauge county residents' interest in changing the system. About 7,000 residents (45 percent) responded, with 72 percent of those responding saying they wanted to keep the current system.

Now, the lead in to the story which does appear just below the title clearly says:
"Residents want curbside garbage pick-up"

But the published results of the survey show otherwise…
"About 7,000 residents (45 percent) responded, with 72 percent of those responding saying they wanted to keep the current system."

What’s that contradiction all about? Huh?

Here’s another quote from the same article:

The large margin against the proposal made the commission's decision to maintain the status quo a no-brainer. A citizen vote for curbside pickup, however, would not have the change happen.

"The commission has to look at it from two ways," English said. "Yeah we've got to look at it to serve the people, but we also have to do it within the financial framework we have to work with."

Yeah… serve the people. What a concept!
And the no-brainer was a no-brainer before the ink on that survey had a chance to dry, I'm sure.

Now, while you are digesting this, consider that over the last 20 years, the garbage collection system has remained relatively unchanged. Aside from an extra compactor here or another scheduled pick-up of the containers that hold the refuse there, it is pretty much as it was in 1985 when I first moved here. But also consider that over that same 20 years, the population of this corner of Lee County has exploded and with that explosion comes revenue and with that revenue comes… what? More garbage on the side of the road as it continues to fall from loaded cars and trucks? More Lee County Sheriff’s deputies writing more tickets for seatbelt laws while cars often have to dodge limbs and sacks of household refuse left on the local streets? County mowers that shred the roadside blight into millions of smaller pieces to be blown by the wind over an even wider area?

The ‘City Haul’ concept of garbage collection is undoubtedly cheaper than curbside pickup and even with the added garbage of so many more residents, the county is either realizing a revenue bonanza or… that money is going somewhere else. Some things are for sure though; cute little surveys will not solve the problem, and comments like Judge English’s passing dismissals are more worthy of one of those garbage collection points, than of a public servant when addressing the needs of the people.