While “bag tags” are going to become a fact of life for residents of Fort Frances starting Monday (May 31), town council is looking at making several concessions that may make the transition easier for some.
An amended version of the proposed waste management bylaw was put through first reading at Tuesday night’s meeting after council agreed to six changes to it (the amended bylaw was to be put to the final vote at a special meeting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday).
Foremost among these changes was one recommended by Mayor Dan Onichuk, who said each homeowner should be allowed one free bag of garbage (or one Type ‘A’ container full of smaller bags) for pickup each week, with each one thereafter requiring a “bag tag.”
The mayor’s second amendment was that the shortfall from allowing these “free” bags be recouped through either increased taxation or pulling from reserves—the latter of which he strongly spoke against.
Allowing the one “free” bag (or Type ‘A’ container) per week would mean a decrease in revenue possibly between $85,000-86,000, said Mayor Onichuk.
He speculated this may translate to a residential tax increase of two percent, but added the math still would have to be figured out by administration.
“I’m not in favour of increased taxation. I think we should take it out of reserves,” said Coun. Roy Avis.
“I don’t think it’s prudent we dip into reserves,” countered Mayor Onichuk, adding that only would mean the town would have to increase taxes next year to get that money back.
“The costs are the costs, and they have to be recouped somehow,” he argued.
The tax increase would be applied strictly to residential taxpayers as other classes (including multi-residential and commercial) won’t be getting a “free” bag/can per week, and must use “bag tags” on each receptacle/can.
Mayor Onichuk noted it was vital the town not do away with “bag tags” and simply tack a few more percentiles onto residents’ taxes to fully pay for garbage pickup.
Because that, he said, would do nothing to make residents more conscious of recycling and waste reduction—a significant goal of the town’s waste management strategy.
The other changes to the new waste management bylaw, which were recommended by the Operations and Facilities division after being gleaned from public input, included:
•Receptacles (commonly known as garbage bags) can be picked up without having to be placed in a garbage can (but they must be tagged individually);
•Multi-residential/commercial/institutional/industrial properties that currently have their garbage picked up by the town—and not an independent contractor—can continue to do so (they must, however, use “bag tags)”;
•Type ‘A’ containers do not have to have lids or handles, as long as the can and garbage content combined don’t weigh more than 40 pounds (this means the red, metal garbage cans commonly seen in alleys will be allowed after all); and
•Animal fecal matter (such as dog dung) will be picked up if it is in a tightly-sealed plastic bag or other container (while it often was picked up before this amendment, under municipal bylaw, the town technically wasn’t supposed to do so).
As stated, the amended bylaw with all these changes was to be discussed—and voted on—at a special council meeting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
While council originally was going to take a final vote on the waste management bylaw Tuesday night (with the four amendments from Operations and Facilities), the mayor’s amendments meant the bylaw had to go back to the first reading stage.
Council agreed to have a special meeting Wednesday in order to avoid having to wait until the next regular council meeting (June 14) to make the second and final readings and pass it (this would have meant the town would miss the original “bag tag” implementation date of May 31).
The two votes taken Tuesday night—one for the four amendments and the other for the first reading of the amended bylaw—saw councillors favour them both by a 5-2 margin.
Mayor Onichuk and Couns. Rick Wiedenhoeft, Todd Hamilton, Tannis Drysdale, and Neil Kabel were in favour while Couns. Avis and Struchan Gilson were opposed.
Councillors also had their say Tuesday night on how the felt about the impending switch to a “bag tag” system.
Coun. Gilson, who has opposed “bag tags” from the start, said he still felt garbage collection should be covered under taxation, not user fees.
“I would support a general tax increase to ensure the basic concept of universality of access to core services,” he remarked.
“To do anything less is fundamentally wrong, and I believe we, as a council, ae about to abrogate our civic responsibility to the citizens of Fort Frances by instituting a regressive user tax on the individual,” he added.
Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft told the 40 or so citizens on hand for Tuesday night’s meeting that he used to be “dead-set against ‘bag tags’” when council first started talking about them.
But after looking at the numbers, he came to see that “bag tags” promoted more recycling, and thus less waste, for future generations to deal with.
He added that, contrary to what some residents have been charging, “bag tags” are “far from a tax grab” because with “bag tags,” people have a choice to reduce how much they pay; with taxes, they don’t.
“If you reduce, reuse, compost, you’ll save money,” remarked Coun. Wiedenhoeft, adding he’s doubtful “bag tags” will cause residents to throw their garbage onto other people’s property as some residents seem to be concerned about.
Coun. Todd Hamilton said he agreed with Coun. Wiedenhoeft about “bag tags” encouraging recycling, adding that while some residents may complain they “can’t recycle anything” under the current “Blue Box” guidelines, revenues from “bag tags” ultimately will allow the town to expand recycling services here.
Mayor Onichuk added the town is committed to expanding recycling here,
noting the town also is slated to meet with the Ministry of Environment on June 9 to discuss setting up a community composter.
While they’re not among the amendments made to the bylaw as it stands to be voted on Wednesday, Mayor Onichuk said several ideas related to waste management he’d like the town to look into down the line include:
•a free tipping day at the landfill in both the spring and fall;
•a “community swap” day, whereby residents would leave items they didn’t want outside their homes for other residents to take from their yards if they so chose; and
•reducing the costs of “Blue Boxes” and composters sold by the town to make them affordable to everyone.
Despite the proposed amendments in the bylaw reflecting some of the concerns voiced at the pair of public meetings held last Tuesday, not everyone was happy last night.
Ken Perry, who has wrote numerous letters regarding “bag tags” to the town, handed over a petition calling for the town to scrap “bag tags” and pursue other options for “broadening” recycling and composting here, which sported a whopping 1,067 signatures as of 7:20 p.m. yesterday.
Perry told council he still would rather see “bag tags” done away with completely because he felt “waste management should be dealt with as a tax expense” and not a user fee.
He added “there is no support in this town for ‘bag tags,’” and felt council was not representing the people who elected them. “‘Bag tags’ are a bad deal,” remarked Perry.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
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