Weeks after instituting a new policy, town officials are preparing to change course, again, on how they charge those bringing brush and construction debris to the dump.
In the past, it had been free for those with a Transfer Station sticker to dump the first 300 pounds of material. Yet as part of a wide reassessment of municipal fees called for by First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, the town changed its policy so that residents starting this month have been charged $100 per ton for brush and $125 per ton for construction debris at the time they bring it to the Lakeview Avenue facility.
The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of the new fees in April, though Selectman Kit Devereaux asked at the time whether it would be possible to give residents up to 300 pounds free per day. Moynihan pushed back on the suggestion, saying, “We heard these proposed when we heard from [Public Works Director] Tiger [Mann] in January and other boards have looked at these, so I really would hate to make changes today, other than not approving the fee.” Residents “are simply going to be charged for their actual usage,” he added during the Board’s April 7 meeting.
The change has swiftly drawn wide criticism.
In a comment posted to NewCanaanite.com, town resident Carol Howe called the charges “outrageous.”
New Canaan’s Nancy Harris said in a comment that she stripped the canvas material off of a wooden frame of a box spring and cut it in half, and brought the 40-pound item to the dump, where she was asked to pay $2—“no cash only credit card or check.”
“I complained how ridiculous this was and was told – talk to the First Selectman,” Harris said in her comment.
An item for Tuesday’s selectmen meeting calls for the town to “revise” its policy so that residents are allowed 100 pounds per day and can come to the dump once per day with such “bulky material.”
Officials said at the time the new fee system was under discussion that charging residents straightaway for dumping the material would bring in about $30,000 of additional revenue annually.
You want us to pay more for a dump pass and then take away what can bring to the dump at the same time??? Just put in in black bags and dump it with the trash – says all the people I have talked to in town about this are going to do.
Indeed these fees are outrageous..shame on the selectmen for initially approving this nickel/ dime tactic. Last Saturday I had some broken up small pieces of wood and was told it had to ‘ go below’ after being weighed, in spite of the fact that large 4×8 pieces of plywood were already dumped in the bin..so I did. The time it took to line up, weigh my car..twice…and pay a small fee..under $10…was a waste. Tiger Mann ought to listen to his crew, two of whom said this new program is a waste and a rippoff, as is the doubling of the annual sticker fee.
This will only cause more trash & debris to be dumped on the side of roads & on town /private property.
Here we go again, nickle and dime us to death. This is another quick way to ask people to leave the town.
I don’t mind paying extra for debris but it was pretty ridiculous to stand in line to pay $1 on my credit card. There has to be a better system than that.