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Cost of living in City Politics
The votes are in, the decisions are made. The trash talk should be done. Except that it’s probably not.
Huh?
Let us break it down. Toledo City Council recently approved two major changes for city residents. One is intended to fix the damn trash. The other to fix the damn roads.
And both will hit ya where it hurts — In the damn wallet.
Garbage in, garbage out
First, the trash. The city contract with current provider Republic Services is up this summer. Wade sent surveys and had public meetings and got proposals. And then he asked council to approve a contract with a new provider, Priority Waste.
Council said, wuh, what? Priority is non-union and its proposal was supposedly more expensive. Not so fast, said Wade. They gots better technology and will provide better service, especially for bulk pick up.
No, you, not so fast, said Council.
They sent the proposal to committee and held a hearing. Meanwhile, Republic said, better technology? Better service? We can do that. Why they haven’t to date was not addressed.
So we’re back to Republic, with a shiny new contract approved by Council. Including GPS tracking, pick-up cameras to document service, and a blight team to handle pesky set outs.
Set outs are when landlords pile tenants’ belongings at the curb after eviction. Where the rain and wind turns the pile into a rotting strewn morass.
Eliminating these eyesores would be delightful. And we’ll believe it when we see it.
And it’ll cost ya. Fees are going up significantly, set to nearly double by twenty twenty-eight. Use the GPS to track your dollars as they fly to One Guvmint Center.
License to ill
Then there’s the roads. The moonscape, pockmarked, pothole infested city streets.
You may recall Wade proposed an increase to the income tax rate not long ago and dedicated it to road repair.
Voters approved the increase. Problem solved!
Not so fast, said Wade. It’s good, but it’s not enough. So Wade sent a proposal to Council to increase the City’s portion of license plate fees from twenty-five dollars to thirty. The extra fiver will add another one million plus dedicated to road repair. Problem solved!
No, you not so fast, said Council.
They sent this proposal to committee, too, and held a hearing.
This time, though, Council decided it’s all good in the neighborhood and approved the increase.
Lessee. A massive increase in garbage fees. A twenty percent increase in license fees.
Okay, Wade, listen up. We better not see one scrap of trash, not one single cigarette butt, anywhere across our fruited plain. And the streets better be paved with gold.
See? We warned ya. While Council may be done talking trash, our trash talking here in the City Politics column has just begun.
Believe it.
