[Durham INC] FW: Please justify position cuts you made in the Department of Solid Waste Management

[Melissa Rooney]

Would love to hear from Mr. Long and/or Mr. Bonfield at the next INC meeting regarding the logic behind these cuts (beyond just 'cuts have to be made somewhere').

MR


On Thursday, 22 May 2014 2:00 PM, michael shiflett <mwshiflett at hotmail.com> wrote:
 


 
Please see (below)  this position taken by Don't Waste Durham chair Crystal Dreisbach.

I completely agree with Crystal as both a member of DWD and having worked with these individuals that provide ESSENTIAL contacts with the Durham community via neighborhood contacts.

It would be my hope that INC questions the logic of eliminating these positions which in my opinion will lead to even more trash and debris being sent to the transfer station on East Club and shipped out of state at an expense that doesn't justify that decision.

Mike Shiflett



________________________________
Date: Wed, 21 May 2014 16:02:49 -0400
Subject: Please justify position cuts you made in the Department of Solid Waste Management
From: crystaldreisbach at gmail.com
To: Donald.Long at durhamnc.gov; tom.bonfield at durhamnc.gov
CC: council at durhamnc.gov; mschultz at newsobserver.com; jwise at newsobserver.com; vbridges at newsobserver.com; CBELLAMY at heraldsun.com; gronberg at heraldsun.com; sorg at indyweek.com; eTownHall at DurhamNC.gov


Dear Mr. Long and Mr. Bonfield,

We were shocked and dismayed to learn that the Waste Reduction Coordinator position and Code Enforcement Officer positions will be eliminated from the City of Durham. We believe the loss of these positions will have a severe and detrimental effect on the Bull City’s environmental health, economy, and long-term sustainability. 

First, it wipes out a vital coordination role for the local government agencies and community groups who are working on positive-impact initiatives in Durham. The Waste Reduction Coordinator has been the nerve center across all of these projects – ensuring clear, consistent, and accurate communications, preventing duplication of effort, and connecting the appropriate players and resources together. Without such coordination, efforts to improve the environmental health and wellbeing of our community will suffer from reduced efficiency and effectiveness, and the City of Durham will lose key opportunities to be a leader in the area of environmental stewardship.

Secondly, elimination of the Waste Reduction Coordinator position is in direct opposition to the City of Durham’s strategic plan. As a case in point, the coordination of waste reduction is integral to Goal 3 (Environmental Stewardship), which states that:

“Plans will include coordinating environmental awareness efforts among City departments, the County, and other Durham organizations, and increasing overall efforts to educate the public, and track progress.”

Finally, your actions contradict the environmental-economic evidence base which demonstrates that waste reduction pays for itself. Removing the Waste Reduction Coordinator role from City staff is a dangerously short-sighted and ill-advised move that will end up costing the City of Durham financially in the long run.

We strongly support progress in the areas of waste reduction, resource recovery,and environmental stewardship. We are proud, for example, of the recent awards the City of Durham has received for its waste reduction efforts. We wholeheartedly oppose moves like yours which would counteract our city’s progress and represent huge steps backwards.

Don't Waste Durham asks that you provide much-needed answers to us and to the wider Durham community by addressing the points we make above and justifying the elimination of a coordination position so vital to our city’s environmental stewardship, health and economy. 

Sincerely,
Crystal Dreisbach
Chair, Don’t Waste Durham
http://dontwastedurham.org/


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