By Bibi Khatoon
In an effort to increase the revenue of the City Council, Town Clerk, Royston King will be moving to have the approval of the council to implement a $200 garbage collection fee. He told members of the press on Friday, January 5, 2018, that the fee will come into effect on February 01, 2018.
“Even though we’re asking homeowners to pay, a small fee, the council will still continue to heavily subsidise the collection and…we could no longer work with just the flat rate which would include the collection of garbage. The collection and disposal of waste is an extremely expensive exercise,” the Town Clerk said.
King claims that the collection and disposal of waste cost approximately $600 per barrel, therefore the council will be subsidising the cost at $400 per barrel.
He noted that the modalities on how the fee will be collected and measures to ensure everyone complies is being worked out. The city’s major garbage contractors began collecting garbage today, the first for 2018, but the council will be moving to purchase its own trucks and equipment to the tune of $70M.
Additionally, the council is looking to implement a special fee for the collection of industrial waste.
In order to ensure public safety, King said that all businesses must be in possession of a sanitation certificate to ensure that their premises were inspected by the council and are complying with public health standards.
The council has been facing issues with garbage collection for years, ranging from inability to pay contractors to non-payment payments from businesses.