Comments on: Paying for the Privilege http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/ What's Going On Here? Sat, 30 Aug 2008 05:30:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Terry http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300991 Terry Tue, 20 May 2008 21:28:14 +0000 http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300991 Paul, My understanding is PAYT typically does not apply to haulers such as Hotchkiss uses (I think they use Welsh Sanitation), unless the trucks were weighed and billed on the spot. I'm not suggesting there is anything wrong with TRAC's research, but why would the experience of CT towns be so different from NYS, where PAYT seems to be the norm? Do they know something in the Empire State that we don't, or vice versa? And just because people can afford to pay higher taxes doesn't mean they should. Why, for example, don't we greatly reduce our fees for participation in the town's rec programs and support it more with the property taxes of the wealthy? This is simply a question of a user fee for a specific service rather than a broad-based tax to support it. Paul,

My understanding is PAYT typically does not apply to haulers such as Hotchkiss uses (I think they use Welsh Sanitation), unless the trucks were weighed and billed on the spot.

I’m not suggesting there is anything wrong with TRAC’s research, but why would the experience of CT towns be so different from NYS, where PAYT seems to be the norm? Do they know something in the Empire State that we don’t, or vice versa?

And just because people can afford to pay higher taxes doesn’t mean they should. Why, for example, don’t we greatly reduce our fees for participation in the town’s rec programs and support it more with the property taxes of the wealthy? This is simply a question of a user fee for a specific service rather than a broad-based tax to support it.

]]> By: Paul Henrici http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300957 Paul Henrici Tue, 20 May 2008 21:12:39 +0000 http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300957 Terry, with all due respect, this issue was addressed thoroughly by the TRAC cmte. 7plus yrs. ago. I suggest you research some of the CT towns that currently use PAYT and see what their experience is/has been. I think you will find lower recycling rates and massive cheating. Perhaps you could speak to Bob Palmer, he can give you all the details. BTW, Peter Halle is “right on” about the tax burden, it falls disproportionly on the wealthy who one, can afford it, and two, don’t care. I wonder how many bags of PAYT Hotchkiss would have, we DO want to be perfectly fair don’t we? Terry, with all due respect, this issue was addressed thoroughly by the TRAC cmte. 7plus yrs. ago. I suggest you research some of the CT towns that currently use PAYT and see what their experience is/has been. I think you will find lower recycling rates and massive cheating. Perhaps you could speak to Bob Palmer, he can give you all the details.
BTW, Peter Halle is “right on” about the tax burden, it falls disproportionly on the wealthy who one, can afford it, and two, don’t care.
I wonder how many bags of PAYT Hotchkiss would have, we DO want to be perfectly fair don’t we?

]]> By: Marshall http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300655 Marshall Tue, 20 May 2008 16:19:10 +0000 http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300655 Never I say! Never! Pay As You Throw.... Only if they have a VISA casrd swipe at the dumpster! I don't want to buy tickets in advance... Tickets? Tickets? We don't need no stinking tickets! I could care less if they charged more for the yearly sticker... PAYT is a plan whos time has come and gone. Why build new stte of the art transfer station if we are just going to line up, py the man nd toss the garbage? Maybe if you put a bullseye on the back of the dumpster, whoever hits it the most wins a month free of PAYT. Never I say! Never!
Pay As You Throw….

Only if they have a VISA casrd swipe at the dumpster!

I don’t want to buy tickets in advance…

Tickets? Tickets? We don’t need no stinking tickets!

I could care less if they charged more for the yearly sticker…

PAYT is a plan whos time has come and gone.

Why build new stte of the art transfer station if we are just going to line up, py the man nd toss the garbage?

Maybe if you put a bullseye on the back of the dumpster, whoever hits it the most wins a month free of PAYT.

]]> By: Peter Halle http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300504 Peter Halle Tue, 20 May 2008 12:26:23 +0000 http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300504 I like the idea of real estate taxes going to the transfer station. That way, as with education, the weekenders support the locals. Also, I don't want to open my wallet everytime I throw a bag in the hopper. I bet with PAYT, more people would chuck their garbage in the woods or at the roadside. I like the idea of real estate taxes going to the transfer station. That way, as with education, the weekenders support the locals. Also, I don’t want to open my wallet everytime I throw a bag in the hopper. I bet with PAYT, more people would chuck their garbage in the woods or at the roadside.

]]> By: Terry http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300453 Terry Tue, 20 May 2008 10:32:50 +0000 http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-300453 Amy, Re: the hybrid approach. Amenia charges a yearly fee for the sticker, plus a per-bag fee. It's not necessarily one or the other. Dick, Yes, the yearly cost for most people would exceed the current sticker fee. But what you are missing is the hidden cost of running the transfer station through your property taxes. Would not our property taxes go down under this plan? Maybe $2.50/bag would not be enough. I just picked the number at random. But I'd like to see the transfer station become self-sufficient. If you're not paying per bag, then you're paying to operate the station by some other means, right? The money has got to come from someplace. Amy,

Re: the hybrid approach. Amenia charges a yearly fee for the sticker, plus a per-bag fee. It’s not necessarily one or the other.

Dick,

Yes, the yearly cost for most people would exceed the current sticker fee. But what you are missing is the hidden cost of running the transfer station through your property taxes.

Would not our property taxes go down under this plan? Maybe $2.50/bag would not be enough. I just picked the number at random. But I’d like to see the transfer station become self-sufficient. If you’re not paying per bag, then you’re paying to operate the station by some other means, right? The money has got to come from someplace.

]]> By: Amy http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-299888 Amy Tue, 20 May 2008 00:01:03 +0000 http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-299888 Dick, you make some good points, but I think you miss the gist of the post. Correct me if I'm wrong, Terry, but it seemed that the suggestion was that Salisbury takes the same tack Amenia has: i.e. the hybrid approach. Make a yearly pass available for a fixed price, but also allow PAYT for those light users of the transfer station. Residents can decide which would be more cost-effective for them. Dick, you make some good points, but I think you miss the gist of the post. Correct me if I’m wrong, Terry, but it seemed that the suggestion was that Salisbury takes the same tack Amenia has: i.e. the hybrid approach. Make a yearly pass available for a fixed price, but also allow PAYT for those light users of the transfer station. Residents can decide which would be more cost-effective for them.

]]> By: Dick Paddock http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-299656 Dick Paddock Mon, 19 May 2008 21:29:24 +0000 http://tcextra.com/terrycowgill/2008/05/19/paying-for-the-privilege/#comment-299656 It's not just change, Terry, it's cost. I have noted for years that the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station is the best waste disposal deal around. When I lived in the nearby Hudson Valley I paid more per month than it costs per year here and that was more than 10 years ago! While PAYT is fairer and a better way to recover expenses even at $2.50 a bag most Salisbury residents would see a significant cost increase. Consider a family that generates 4 bags per week. At $2.50 a bag the $500. plus per year that will cost will certainly not make them proponents of PAYT. Most PAYT customers I know have a trash compactor and are very creative about managing the volume of their trash but not necessarily better at recycling. As for welcoming all comers, it might get you more trash than you can haul... especially if the price is right. It’s not just change, Terry, it’s cost. I have noted for years that the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station is the best waste disposal deal around. When I lived in the nearby Hudson Valley I paid more per month than it costs per year here and that was more than 10 years ago! While PAYT is fairer and a better way to recover expenses even at $2.50 a bag most Salisbury residents would see a significant cost increase. Consider a family that generates 4 bags per week. At $2.50 a bag the $500. plus per year that will cost will certainly not make them proponents of PAYT. Most PAYT customers I know have a trash compactor and are very creative about managing the volume of their trash but not necessarily better at recycling. As for welcoming all comers, it might get you more trash than you can haul… especially if the price is right.

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