INC NEWS - solidly wasted money

[RW Pickle]

Donald Long said:

"When we send out notices to the public we use more than the City web page
and free public service announcements. Those mailings that go out in the
water bill are costly."

I don't know who told you this, but it is entirely false. In fact, if
information is included in the Citizen Newsletter that goes out every time
with the water bill (either in the printed format or the electronic
format), it's FREE. If it is included as an additional piece of paper
information (like the one Solid Waste will be including in the upcoming
water billing for Sept/Oct; you could have saved $1000 by making it 1/3
the size...), the only cost associated by adding an additional piece of
paper with the water billing is the printing (paper and ink). And
according to the City Print Shop, that'll run in the neighborhood of $2100
(for like what Solid Waste will include in the Sept/Oct mailing). So I'm
not sure what you see as costly relative to running an entire duplicate
waste fleet with manpower. $5200/ day versus $2100 a mailing looks like a
no-brainer from my end. There is no comparison. Just stopping the
duplication of service for half of a day would pay for the mailing. It is
in fact CHEAP to get info out with the water billing (70,000 customers)
and the electronic formats the Citys' Information Department currently
utilizes. Especially when it is compared to the duplication of service
we're talking about.

I'm not going to tear apart your logic of one trip to the transfer station
or driving around town all day being the same. It's obvious that it's not.
And even with the duplicate service, they still have to go to the transfer
station as well. So it's easy to see that reasoning doesn't hold water.
Wear and tear on two trucks is twice of what it is on one. Six Solid Waste
employees on two trucks is twice that of one. Fuel, insurance,
maintenance, trips to the transfer station; it's all doubled effort and
costs twice as much. That's easy to see. And during this time of year,
with as little rain as we have had, yard waste tonnage must be at an all
time low.  I keep comparing this scenario with only two trucks in it on a
daily basis. But if I'm right, we're really talking about 8 or more trucks
(4 trucks for yard waste). So it's not like one truck is running around
duplicating the service, it's a fleet of trucks.

I don't recall Mr. Simpson saying he didn't keep records either. I recall
him saying he didn't keep up with them and that was someone else's
responsibility (when it came to the paying of fines). I'm sure Mr. Simpson
has records as to what he has been able to accomplish. And I in no way
mean to diminish the work he is doing. But as a citizen who worked toward
getting a position like his at Solid Waste for so long, I will tell you
again, we wanted an enforcer, not an educator.  We all appreciate what he
does and only hope it makes a difference.

I also learned today, that even though Solid Waste has offered free mulch
to non-profits, there is no mulch available. Thanks to Redmill Nursery for
chipping in 15 cu. yards to continue the progress on the new Senior Center
garden work. Apparently all the mulch has been transported to Virginia. I
hope they used it out by the highway there to spruce the entrance to their
landfill...

RWP
27 Beverly