On Dec. 31, I received a letter from our trash collection service here in the National Hills area. Basically, it says that beginning next week, our trash collection service will be cut from twice weekly to once weekly.
Didn't the illustrious Augusta Commission just increase the amount billed to us on our annual tax bill? Now we get half the service for that increased price!
Now, I don't have a problem with the cost-of-living increases we all have to deal with occasionally, but I do have a problem with paying that increase and then getting less service!
This must have been negotiated by Geri Sams or Marion Williams before he left!
Why is it so difficult for our government officials to let a contract and then enforce its terms? Who negotiates these contracts that let the vendors do less for more money? I mean, Waste Management was hired by the county! We citizens did not have a choice in the matter. Our wonderful commissioners decided that we weren't responsible enough to handle our own trash collection services. (Ever heard of "competition"?)
The letter went on to say that yard waste collection day would be changed. It will now be on Friday. I know a lot of people are like me and do their own grass cutting and leaf raking. We also mostly do this on Saturday and Sunday, as we work at a paying job the other days of the week. This means that my grass cuttings and bags of leaves must sit on my curb for four days before it is picked up.
There was no mention of the schedule for recyclables collection days. What happened to all the hype about "Going Green" and "Saving The Planet"?
As I write this letter, 2 Jan. 09, 1830 hours, I just received a telephone call from Waste Management telling me to be sure to read the letter they sent out as it contains very important information on our collection schedule, effective the 5th of January. LOL! I just love the Augusta Commission and government vendors!
Raymond Ball, Augusta
Comments
Don't complain! Here in Los Angeles, it's once a week citywide. But, the city provides 3 large containers for each home: Black (regular garbage), Green (yard waste - grass - leaves - branches), and Blue (recyclables - paper, plastics, etc.). Our day is Wednesday - you put out all three containers at the curb, and by about 10 am three different trucks have taken all your trash. We get billed a certain amount on our water and power bills for sewer and trash collection.
Another Augusta Commission "bright idea". Most places that have residential trash pick-up as a city/county service also has their own employees picking up the trash instead of contracting it out to private companies. The one's around here are the Halliburton of the trash industry - little service for lots of money.
How's this for "competition?" ...My pick up company is not Waste Management So maybe that is why we did not get a letter. I do not live in the National Hills AREA, but I do live in National Hills proper, just a short distance from NHES. Our refuse collection company is Inland, and they do a great job every day they are in the neighborhood. I wonder why your company is changing, but ours is not......Shouldn't they all be doing the same thing? I remember the Commission discussing the ifs, ands, and buts of a reduction in pick up days, but I do not remember reading where they actually voted to do so.
I live out of the city and take care of my own trash pickup with my little trailer and the local recycling dump. Lower taxes and less reason to complain. I guess that's what choice is all about.
It is my understanding that there is a different rate schedule for the City and the rest of Richmond County. Before I can make a judgement about this 'reduction' in Mr. Ball's service I would have to know how much he pays for it compared to what I pay for it.
That's what I was saying, fd. It's all about choice.
pt--it doesn't seem reasonable to change addresses over the issue of trash collection. When I lived in the country, it cost me nothing. But with "consolidated" government I didn't think anybody in Augusta-Richmond County had a choice. My neighbors tell me that their only expense used to be for the drive to the landfill. In other words, their trash disposal was free. Now they say they have no choice but to pay between $300 to $400 a year as part of their property taxes. There seems to be little that is equitable about this either. One of my neighbors is elderly and lives alone, producing about a hatbox full of trash a week. The neighbors two doors down have a tribe producing enough trash to fill a shipping container. Yet BOTH pay the same amount. At election time there was some talk about charging by weight (though I have no IDEA how they proposed to do this, apart from scales at landfill). Do you have any other solution to offer besides moving? Most of us couldn't care less how many day(s) a week they pick up, we'd just like to have ANY choice in the matter.
Glad I moved to N Augusta. Trash once a week (including all yard debris that doesn't have to be bagged), water, sewer fee and rain water fee average about $70.00 a month. Nice, quiet and very clean town.
I just want to know who on the comission or who in the contracting office is getting the kickback from these trash contracts. When the RC comission forced this on us rural folks my trash bill went up 150% from what I was paying a private contractor and he came to my house. Now I have to drag it 1/4 of a mile to the road. This year fuel prices are 1/2 of what they were last year and it seems like the trash collection fees would go DOWN, not UP. Who is getting the kickback? Or are we just paying more than we should to help out some more minority owned businesses as is common with RC contracting?
I'm moving to North Augusta too, the Augusta Commission sucks.
I'm with patriciathomas as I live in the county as well, and sure, I have to take EVERY bit of trash and recyclable items to the local dump but honestly, that puts the ball in my court, I know the hours of the dump so I have 5 days to take the trash out, even Sunday...I don't have to depend on the city for crap and the dump's about 3 miles away from our house so the drive isn't bad at all. And this is all in SC, where Aiken/Edgefield/North Augusta are all holding hands.
crackertroy: if you're in NA, glad you're here :D
jack: glad you're here too :D
Oh yeah, what sucks is the zoning in NA...Five Notch Road off of Georgia Ave goes down to intersect with Pisgah Road...right side of Five Notch on is inside-city limits, left side (used to live off Pinon Road) is county....wtf?
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