Peoria City Councilman Eric Turner just might be insane. Here’s evidence from today’s Word on the Street:
He said the current $6 monthly garbage fee, which was instituted in 2003 to help balance Peoria’s budget at the time, could be “rolled” into the city’s tax base. Doing so would “eliminate” a fee that has been unpopular since it was introduced, he said.
City administrators have suggested eliminating free landscape waste hauling in the next garbage services contract to save an estimated $1.2 million. That’s just one of many sweeping changes proposed to patch a $10 million city budget deficit.
Turner contacted the village of Morton last week to inquire about its garbage pickup program. Morton has long charged residents a small fee to purchase stickers that are placed on garbage cans. It’s a pay-as-you-throw program, in that a resident has to pay for each can of garbage tossed out during a particular week. Thus, the more garbage you place curb side, the more you pay. Morton does provide free curbside recycling.
You think the garbage fee that shows up on water bills to pay for cops is unpopular? Wait till we start charging Peorians for stickers so they can put their garbage cans on the curb.
Sweet Jesus. Anyone who thinks this idea would go over any better than the garbage fee is either clinically insane or just hasn’t been paying attention to how Peorians behave.
This is how to make Peorians happy about their garbage pick up:
Hire magical faeries to collect the garbage. They would be able to sprinkle pixie dust on the trash cans, emptying them magically while separating the recyclable stuff. And they wouldn’t have to use garbage trucks that make loud noise in the morning. And because faeries are magical beeings that require no food or shelter, we wouldn’t have to pay them. This is important because while Peorians might logically realize that they have to pay for what they receive, in practice, they get their panties in a twist when actually asked to do so.
Here’s an idea for closing the $10 million deficit that Peorians will love: Set up tollbooths on every road and highway into the city. Charge $1 to enter the city from 6-9 a.m. That way we can get capture revenue from those people who use the city without living here. Why not? It is based on the same principle as the Hotel, Restaurant and Amusement tax — namely that there IS such a thing as a free lunch. That’s why it works so well and the city is rolling the wealth. End sarcasm.
Tags: Eric Turner, garbage fee, TANSTAAFL, Taxes
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Garbage stickers will be available at City Hall from 11am-3pm on Tuesdays. No credit cards or checks accepted.
This sounds like a classic example of “Be careful what you wish for…”
No matter how you do it not everyone will get the message. So we will go for a long time with people putting their trash out along the curb without stickers. It will sit there forever waiting for someone to dump it or explain to the residents that they have to buy stickers. As it goes now you can buy stickers at the local grocery stores in Morton, so the trip to city hall isn’t necessary. Even if Peoria adopts that same program not everyone will catch on. Not everyone will cooperate and it is going to be one big stinking mess for a long time.
I see the dumpsters of area business becoming very full after nightfall.
Businesses in Morton have been known to use surveillance cameras to deter the public from using their dumpsters. When they are not deterred, the owners of the businesses have been know to call the police and have the person fined. It only took a few months for people to stop dumping in business dumpsters.
I had family members that lived in Morton when they started their program. If I’m not mistaken, they used this sytem of charging for curbside garbage cans in order to entice residents to recycle. They did NOT charge for recycling. Therefore, in order to reduce the number of garbage cans used, people did indeed take advantage of recycling.
Here in Peoria, however, if you want to recycle you PAY for it. And now it seems if you want to be rid of your garbage, you PAY for it. I’m guessing there will be people canceling their recycle bill and perhaps will quit putting their landscape at the curb in order to offset their bills and to make some sort of “statement” about this newest fee idea.
I’ve been paying 50 cents for “excess garbage” stickers since moving to Kewanee three years ago. You know what? It WORKS PERFECTLY.
We’re allowed 2 33-gallon bags for free, each week. For any additional bag, you put a neon-green sticker on it and they take it. Stickers are available all over town, 50 cents each. I usually buy five dollars worth around the first of the month and it lasts me all month.
If you put out four bags and DO NOT put a sticker on the two extra bags, they just charge you 50 cents (maybe even a little more with a penalty) on your next city water bill, which also covers sewer and waste disposal.
The more garbage you create, the more you pay. What the hell could POSSIBLY be wrong with that idea?
I wonder how many people would just dump their garbage alongside a highway. Driving N on Allen road this morning I noticed 3 or 4 bags of garbage in the middle of the highway. What is up with that?
I wonder how large the rental and low income population is in Morton and Kewanee? Landlords paying for this? LOL The low income peeps living there?… either they can’t afford it or they just won’t pay for it. You can probably get a good idea where it will fall by how much trash is in the yard presently. Expect more.
I suggest driving around Kewanee any Tuesday morning (my pickup day) or Wednesday morning (north side). Kewanee isn’t exactly a rich town, btw, but even in the less-fortunate parts of town garbage isn’t piling up in anyone’s yard. The city picks it up, if you have too much there’s a sticker on it, if you don’t have a sticker on it you pay for it in your bi-monthly water bill, if you don’t pay your water bill your water gets shut off and the garbage doesn’t collect. Simple
So, judging from how many (read: none) yards have garbage piled up all over the place, I’d say it’s not a problem.
What does “rolled into the city’s tax base” mean?
BJ: “The more garbage you create, the more you pay. What the hell could POSSIBLY be wrong with that idea?”
I think I excplained that. Peorians want the magical trash bag faeries to pick uptheir garbage for free.
Mary: “What does “rolled into the city’s tax base” mean?”
Property taxes or sales taxes. This may be the reason they are rolling this idea out. To make people insist on any way OTHER than a form of taxation that reminds them they are paying for it.
Seriously, I suggest the council give Peoria’s taxpayers what they want: Services paid for by “The Other Guy.” Perhaps armed revenue collectors who break into the homes of well-to-do Mortonites or Dunlappers, then steal their stuff. The city could sell the stuff at a city-wide garage sale and use it to offset property taxes.
Don’t we already pay for garbage pickup with property and sales taxes?
The $6.00 garbage fee is in addition to that.
Stickers would be a third charge because the 1st two would not be removed. Right?
billy,
a more um, modest proposal, might be to have peorians simply take all their collected trash and throw it into the gaping Sears block hole. after all, the space seems to defy natural laws and gobble up money. i assume it also gobbles up trash.
its that or the council might begin seriously considering project: soylent peoria.
Mary – There’s a fourth charge is you have to rent a dumpster from Waste Management.
I don’t want magic trash bag fairies with pixie dust. I want essential services. Garbage and landscape pickup seems to fall into that category. “Free” to residents curbside recyling (ooops – would that require that the city provide curbs) – seems like a win-win situation – the city or waste management or whoever would get funds for selling the recyled materials. The amount of garbage going into the landfill would be reduced. If they want to charge for this stuff – raise the property taxes to cover it – but the essential services should be provided.
In Morton, the waste hauler provides you with one large garbage can and two recycling tubs. You use them but do not own them. Some people choose to use their own (smaller) garbage cans (sticker needed) in addition to the can the garbage service provides. I have known residents to get really “creative” with disassembling large junk items and then hiding the pieces in the garbage can. Breaking up large cardboard boxes to fit in the recycling tubs is time consuming. Is the Morton system a pain? Yes. But for only $11 a month, it is a deal.
It is too bad that Morton residents have to pay the town to haul away landscape rubbish. Curbside pickup of “organic” waste is NOT free. You need to buy special bags and buy stickers. Why should anyone have to pay the town to give them FREE mulch??!? Half of the town of Morton is filled with CRABBY and unfriendly empty nesters that like to mow their yards twice a week and plant flowers up to the sidewalk. Landscape rubbish is a BIG deal in Morton.
It would be nice if all towns could adopt an “amnesty” week twice a year: throw anything out, no matter how large or small, without penalty. Doesn’t East Peoria already do this?
When I moved here I was shocked we didn’t have to hire a sanitation collector. It seems it is a fairly rare scenario to have garbage collection provided free (so to speak) by the city.
Kohlrabi – You’re right, I forgot about the dumpster rental. We are paying a lot for “free” garbage pickup.
A neighbor, because she is prudent with her money, called Waste Management, to ask what the cost was to buy instead of rent a dumpster. She was told they were not for sale. We will all have to pay that $7.50 fee forever. Waste Management is not dumb!
Pride in Peoria is Picking Up – had (possibly no longer after Steve Pierz left) an adopt a block program that gave the big green dumpsters away for free if you picked up litter on your block. Four were delivered to my house and I’ve never been billed for them. If/when they start billing, they can have them back.
You can buy a toter like the green ones at Lowe’s, Wal-Mart and other places in the area. The guys picking up the trash don’t care if its green or not.
There are many ways to successfully implement a pay-as-you-throw program. There are a lot of details (and more coming soon) on http://gwsolutionsgroup.com.
The premise of what Councilman Turner has been talking about would (to my understanding) include universal curbside recycling that would be viewed as “free” and that would be paid for by the property taxes. The $6 fee on the water bill would go away and be replaced by the variable pricing set for Peoria’s program. Ideally through waste reduction and recycling people have the potential to save money. Right now with unlimited garbage pick up, we’re all paying the tab through our taxes. People don’t see the economic incentive with the current model.
As for the valid concerns about illegal dumping, in reality the research shows with education and enforcement, it’s not a problem. Peoria needs to commit to enforcing hard during the first few months, and other cities have found it’s relatively easy to find and fine the illegal dumpers.
According to Bloomington, Indiana (with 29.6% of the population below the poverty line compared to Peoria’s 18.8%) sanitary department, they had some illegal dumping before and still some now, but really nothing changed. I challenge Peoria to take this opportunity to address the current problems in conjunction with PAYT and actually reduce the litter problem.
This is a very viable solution for Peoria, the problem is that the whole story hasn’t been communicated clearly. So, post your questions, concerns and comments on the Global Warming Solutions Group website and we’ll address them and work with the city to include those concerns in their pay-as-you-throw garbage proposal.