South Fayette considering garbage fee
South Fayette Township’s 2016 draft budget calls for no new taxes, but residents may have to begin paying for their garbage to be collected.
The proposed $9.7 million budget for next year is a slight increase – 1.35 percent, or $130,000 – over this year’s budget of $9.57 million. Property taxes are expected to remain at 3.48 mills, said Ryan Eggleston, township manager.
But to fund needed paving and repairs to the township’s 65 miles of roads, Eggleston proposed a “pay-to-pave” program under which a township resident under the age of 66 would pay $17.91 a month, or $53.73 a quarter, for trash pickup. This, in turn, would free up $750,000 in the township budget, money that could go toward road paving and materials for in-house road improvements, he said.
“Pay for pickup and pave the roads,” Eggleston said during Wednesday’s commission meeting.
Under the proposed 2016 garbage collection plan, the $17.91-a-month fee would cover curbside garbage, recycling, as well as leaf and electronics collection. A third-party waste company would directly bill residents for the service, akin to what utility companies already do, he said.
Residents who are 66 and older could receive the service for free, said Eggleston, who noted the age cutoff is tied to Social Security retirement, and $213,000 has been set aside to fund this part of the plan.
“This is a proposal for the board to consider,” said Eggleston, adding that residents of nearby North Fayette, Oakdale and Bridgeville pay for trash removal. “This is a way to capture a dedicated funding mechanism.”
Residents at the meeting had mixed feelings about paying for trash collection.
“I consider it a tax,” said Stacy Kosky, who lives on Millers Run Road.
The township will discuss the draft budget and the garbage collection plan at its Dec. 2 meeting. The commissioners will vote on the budget at the Dec. 9 meeting.
In other matters, the commission will start meeting once a month on a trial basis instead of two times, beginning in January. Currently, the commission meets the first and second Wednesdays every month at 7:30 p.m. They also agreed to start the meetings at 7 p.m. in 2016.
The commission’s first monthly meeting serves as its workshop meeting, where business is discussed. That meeting is followed a week later by the voting meeting.
“If we need to revise this, then we will,” said Commissioner Lisa Malosh. “We are going to need some sort of measure to see what the community thinks. … I am all about eliminating waste.”
Eggleston said if the monthly meetings are not working out, then the matter could be revisited in April.