When I first moved to Augusta, I hired a garbage service. When the company started doing a bad job, I fired them and hired a different one. Then the county decided that I was not to be trusted with such weighty decisions.
If memory serves, a key figure in a waste management company hired by the Augusta Commission went to prison for fraud soon after I got my new roll-away barrels. I also lost all rights when it came to looking for the frequency of service, type of service and price that best met my needs and ability to pay. I had to call Augusta Cares to get somebody to deliver a recycling barrel to my house.
Fast-forward a few years, and now the commission is in the process of deciding, again, what my trash service will look like and cost. This decision will not be based on my needs or desire/ability to pay, but simply will reflect political necessity and budget constraints at the county level. The most likely result is that my fees will go up; level and frequency of service will decline; and "surplus" waste management funds will be used to balance other areas of the budget.
Thank goodness there are no plans to turn any other basic, necessary services over to enlightened government management!
Tony Shaffer
Augusta
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Tongue-in-cheek????? OBAMACARE anyone
No thanks, we'll stick to privatization. We just love getting tongued and paying through the cheeks. Don't hate us for being stupid.
Once again I will say I have no complaint on the solid waste pick up service, schedules, or cost. However, the cost should be the same throughout Augusta-Richmond County. Why shouldn't people who live in the old City of Augusta pay the same rates as the people who live in Richmond County? Also, why don't people who fail to pay their property tax bills, which includes the solid waste fee, get their service terminated? These are the areas where I believe 'politics' are involved, and the difference needs to be corrected immediately.
Here is what I don't understand. The Garbage Service was put out for bids and a service was picked, and a contract signed, as they were the lowest bidder. In the first month or two the rates were increased. Shouldn't that contract be completed at that rate? And if not, it should be reopened for bids. That company lowballed the rate, because they knew they could raise the rate once they got their foot in the door. Smells like quid pro quo to me!
Privatize it and be done with it. Stop socialized trash service!