AUBURN — Budget savings won out over waste collections Monday night as councilors voted 4-3 to cancel this year's spring cleanup collections.
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"We have a problem now with irresponsible government at the national and state level and now it's up to us," Councilor Dan Herrick said. "This is a tough decision, because spring cleanup is an important service. That the $50,000 we pay for it is 2.5 cents on the tax rate."
City Manager Glenn Aho announced last week that the collections would be postponed to save money. The city is facing a budget shortfall thanks to a $1.5 million cut in revenue from the state for this year and a $2.5 million cut in the next fiscal year. Councilors challenged Aho to cut $1 million from the fiscal year 2010-11 budget, and this year's spring cleanup was his first cut.
Mayor Dick Gleason argued that it was not the kind of decision that should be made lightly, and argued for a public vote. The annual collection had its supporters.
"I think this is a program that helps make the community more presentable and cuts down on fire hazard," Councilor Belinda Gerry said. "I have heard of instances of firefighters responding to a fire and having to battle old furniture and crap as much as fire and fumes."
Councilor Robert Hayes said he understood that cleanup collections would not be included in the 2011 budget, but said he supported having the collections this year.
Councilors Gerry, Hayes and Eric Samson voted to reinstate the collections, scheduled for May 3. Councilors Herrick, Mike Farrell, David Young and Ray Berube voted to end them.
Councilors are scheduled to continue budget discussions Tuesday night. They plan a 5:30 p.m. workshop to discuss the Great Falls Performing Arts Center, followed by general budget work.
They've scheduled a special budget meeting to discuss curbside recycling from July 2010 through June 2011, which councilors agreed to end last week. That will be followed by an open session to take public comments on the budget.
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This is really too bad since so many people use this service and the cost is only estimated at $50K. Certainly the city must have been under budget in regards to snow removal this year. Why not use that money to fund it (or re-fund it since it was already part of the current year budget).
The post on the city website says to contact Karen Veilleux with concerns. I say call the councilors. Here are the councilors who voted to eliminate: Michael Ferrill (318-5783), Dan Herrick (782-2725), David Young (786-2129) and Ray Berube (783-6654). Email addresses at http://auburnmaine.org/index.asp?Type=B_LIST&SEC={8150265A-3ED5-4DFA-A0B9-117C641EF6A6}
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Idiotic, penny wise pound foolish, nonsense.
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It seems ludicrous to cut a program that most citizens take advantage off. After all what do we get for our tax dollars...
Clean up week was elimated a few years ago and returned because there was a demand for it. I would think our city councilors would learn not to touch areas that make a difference to most people. Doesn't make much sense to me, never mind the negative environmental effects. I say we put stuff out to the street and let pickers take what they want (whoops, they aren't allowed anymore). I just want to be able to recycle my old stuff or trash it.
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WHAT A BUNCH OF DUMB BELLS.
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Maybe just maybe, if both Lewiston and Auburn would stop handing out money to every refugee, that comes here.....maybe we the people that pay the taxes could have something back. Now by word of mouth, we have a inpouring of refugee's and the city just keeps giving. The people that have worked and paid taxes for years are losing everything. Now Spring Cleanup too, insane. maybe paying taxes is not in our budget this year either. Why don't you try collecting from....mmmm the refugee's that you have been supporting, isn't it about time, everyone paid back some of what they were given.
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After working as a landlord for over 2 years and having "refugee" tenants (by the way I am an Auburn taxpayer) I have seen first hand the freebees. It is sickening. Especially when I pay a ton in taxes for esentially Friday trash pickup and for my son to sit in a fire truck a couple times a month on our walk. Wouldn't it be great if the money was actually used to improve the city. I beat my vehicle every day going to work on South Main Street. The city doesn't pay for the front end in my car when I have to fix it every other month from the goat path of a road. But they are the first to demand their tax payments! Sickening.
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I was wondering how long it would take L/A's version of "Goodwin's Law" to show up in this thread.......
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I Agree..maybe people that move to this area should .....ummm have a job lined up before they move here....keep that job for 6 months before extending city aid...
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To date, your democratic legislature has failed to address the residency issues that many have raised, 37 state now have a minimum residency time before you can apply for assistance fo any kind. Maine refuses, keep electing democrats and see where it gets you on this one...
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never ceases to amaze me. Your wife's ancestors are all turning in their graves.
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Newsflash! This just in!..Unable to make a logical or rational argument and unable to make provide any intelligent conversation, tron once again resorts to race baiting and name calling, something he often accuses others of doing...nice...
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I didn't call you a "name", merely commenting on your xenophobia. You want to discriminate against people who are not long time residents, meaning outsiders, aliens, immigrants; all satisfying the definition of xenophobia. I did non race baiting, because some of these immigrants are not black, so your racist tendencies did not rear its ugly head, this time. So I merely commented on how pervasive your xenophobic tendencies are. You, on the other hand, only bait to create conflict, since none of your commentary applied to the topic at hand.
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Xenophobia relates to the hatred or fear of what is different. Arguing for residency requirements on social welfare programs is decidedly unxenophobic because it applies to people of all races, creeds, cultures, ages etc etc (including those who are "the same" as the supposed xenophobe).
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I guess he's too much of a coward to defend himself. Fine
Xenophobia is a dislike and/or fear of that which is unknown or different from oneself.
Bobby hates to give anyone different from himself, a long time resident of the city any access to city resources. Now that's totally in the definition. Please donate to Husson so they could create a comprehension course. It is obviously needed.
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Unlike Danny, i don't have the ability to blog all day and night, i actually have a full time jkob a part time job and I bolunteer for my community (that makes three differences between myself and danny already). There was no need to defend my argument as I already had in pointing out your use of xeno phobia was irrational and not relevant to what you tried to accomplish. Clearly to dimwitted to udnerstand that, you continued hoping to salvage what little argument you had. IF you wish to donate to Husson, please free, perhaps some of the money can be used so danny/tron/troll could get a GED and pursue a real life.
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Sorry for the poor typing, but I'm sure folks can comprehend what i wrote regardless of my poor typing quality. I actually worked all day and again this evening and I'm sure working class people appreciate my efforts to pay taxes so that leaches like tron can suck on the teat of America just a bit longer.
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So you're arguing that someone from "away" is inherently different? Here I was thinking that they're just other people, who happened to live somewhere else. It's you who asserts they are "different," which sheds a lot of light on your world view of our human race.
I mean maybe it's just me, but I don't see a WASP man from Massachusetts as "different". With residency restrictions on welfare, that guy couldn't waltz in to City Hall and ask for assistance in Lewiston.
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booby does. Don't put words into my mouth. If you don't understand what I said, ask. I'll try to use smaller words.
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Tron, spoken like a true xeno to the human race. Taken from the Greek xenos, a word meaning strange or alien, which you certainly are.
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xenophobia because I beleive there should be a residency requirement before ANYONE can get public assistance...clearly you have no clue what the word even means....
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Hmmm, welfare did not arise until Roosevelt's "New Deal" (during that great depression you like to talk about), and welfare as we know it came about during the LBJ administration. Something in your logic doesn't quite add up...
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We were told 2 weeks ago that spring clean-up was still on and we are moving the last week of this month. We have already put tons of spring clean-up trash out just as many others have. Unfortunately it will still be there after we move. You can't cancel it this late in the game! It doesn't work that way! This is why we are moving out of Auburn! We already pay an arm and leg for taxes in this God forsaken town - Spring Clean-up is the very least we should be getting every year!!! I'm still leaving my trash out! And I hope everyone else does too!
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Another short-sighted decision by the Council. I'm guessing that the amount I might technically save on property taxes due to this decision will be less than the amount I will be charged to dispose of my junk at the transfer station.
Why couldn't the Council at least offer a week of free drop-offs at the transfer station?
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I, Reason that those councilors who voted for the continuation should be commended and those who opposed with such short sighted action should be voted out of office, I hope you agree and will remember this at the poles too.
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morons... you could sub it out to a recycling firm
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Join facebook group:
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I think the LSJ should write an editorial about a potential conflict of interest if the outcome of a vote could provide revenue to a councilor based on his vote...he should have abstained.
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Just wait, tonight they will vote on eliminating the SRO positions at the schools. for those of you who do not know what an SRO is, it is a School Resource Officer. The last time they disbanded the program in 2004-2005 juvenile crime rose 38% and then lowered again once the program was re instated. The problem is that by eliminating this program it will cause a surge in court costs and jailing costs paid for by the state and not the city. By the state taking on the cost, the state budget will be affected and the first place they always cut is school systems.....That is perfect the Auburn schools systems we take a double hit and our kids will be more proned to crime and will have no books to read while sitting in jail!
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Suggestion. Put the bulky trash out at curbside anyway, if anyone asks play dumb like a politician would with a "duh I don't know how that got there someone must have dumped it overnight." The city will have no choice but to remove the trash anyway.
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Someone did that in front of the building where I live, they left a couch, and my landlord got fined for it even though none of us was responsible. We think it was someone from across the street who uses a different collection service but no way to prove that of course. Cancelling it will just perpetuate the problem, now they will have trash accumulating for the rest of us to look at and no one will do anything about it. I agree cut the fat somewhere else and keep it clean, it's nasty enough.
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Very Clever! lets remove the one servicve that benifits everyone but costs very little instead of cutting the real fat???
Most of Auburns tax payers, myself included, pay their taxes and use almost NO services.. All the money we spend on saleries and this is the best solution you could come up with to save 50k??
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So for all of th ematerials that I've collected, ready to be put out to the road, can I just set them on fire in my driveway? How 'bout shove them up my #$@?
Once again the councilors are making votes that affect them financially, this time it's Farell who stands to gain while that trash pile of a back yard gets higher and higher.
And to Councilor Herrick, cancelling this over a 2.5 cent raise in the mill rate? Are you kidding me? I'll pay that for my whole neighborhood if you want to swing the truck by. Hell I'll double it if we can toss you into the truck as well.
Thank you Councilors Gerry, Hayes and Samson for actually having a brain.
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Is there going to be a few weeks when residents can bring items to the plant without paying tipping fees?
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I watched the joint budget meeting last night, and had to shut it off early. The parade of joint L/A organizations parading in front of the council for $$ was nauseating. I had no idea some of those received city/taxpayers $$. Seriously, if ACG (and others) can't survive within their own coffers, then disband or scale way down. I have heard the new homeless shelter being developed by Tedford will be getting city $$. If that's true...the councilors are misinformed, and need to do their homework. Stop giving $$ away just because it "seems" like the right thing to do. This economy is not the climate for unnecessary, feel good programs.
Cancelling Spring Cleanup a few weeks before it begins shows how Auburn conducts business with a knee jerk reaction. I get that it's a luxury, and one that should have been looked at in JANUARY. But this drama move by Aho smacks of the high school guy who dumps his date a few days before the prom, and the girl has already bought her dress. Actually, in this case, her date simply did not show up...
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I meant AGC (Andro Growth Council), not ACG
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If the city wanted to cancel spring clean up they should have planned for canceling it next year and not for a year already scheduled especially so close to the dates of pick up. People have already started putting items out. But that is just fine for Mr. Mike Farrell because his AUBURN BASED company stands to make a HUGE profit. Everyone should look at Farrell enterprises and see what the company does......Removal of large quantities of trash and garbage from peoples homes. Very nice Mike!!!!!!!!
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Not the same Mike Farrell...I originally thought it was, but not the case and has no relationship with that business at all
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Herrick and Farrell voted against keeping it open...explains it all....bad enough our cities have to end the program, but to take away something already budgetted for the current year is even worse, giving citizens no alternatives and little time. Shamefully many have already put out their items and now there will be no one to collect them so I'm guessing next week Herrick and Farrell will ask the police chief to start handing out fines for littering of these same items to create revenue.
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I didn't know that CRAP is feces. And BTW it's Sun Journal not Sunjournal. Not sure your students would like that!
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"We the people" be in jail if I was an independent company asking people to pre pay(taxes are paid ahead) for trash removal and then decided not to follow through with with the contract. It is taxation without representation......we are being sold a bill of goods. We pre paid for this service and now it's not going to happen. What's next from these F'n liars and cheats?
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While I appreciate Ms. Gerry's support of Spring Clean Up... I do not appreciate her use of the word CRAP in what is supposed to be a professional setting. If she was misquoted... shame on the SunJournal! I work very hard to teach today's students that CRAP is not appropriate language to use. I am sure that Ms. Gerry understands that the city would not be picking up feces during Spring Clean Up...
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As a ward 3 voter, I am once again disappointed with Dan Herrick. He has no business representing anybody after voting on an issue last year that ended up financially bennefitting his business. That was dishonest,and proved he is more concerned for himself than he is for the constituents that put him in office. Shame on all the councelors that voted against spring clean up. It's a sad day for the thousands of law abiding citizens that have paid their taxes as homeowners for decades. Eric,Bob,and Belinda represent their constituents, and I would like to know if Dan Herrick polled his constituents on this issue. I would be in favor of a salary reduction for the city's top 10 administrators (with the exception of chief crowell;because he's the only one of them in my opinion that earns his money),rather than have spring clean up taken away. Aho is making 100+ thousand a year. Doesn't he have a city vehicle,city gas etc ??? Aho can afford to finance a truck to drive his trash to the dump,others in this town that have been taxpaying homeowners in this city before Aho found his fortune here cannot. Does Aho have a secretary too? Does Aho get a free meal at council meetings too? If Herrick was in the trash business he'd be voting for spring clean up !!!!
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Very short sighted. This city is messy enough as it is - now watch. And we say are trying to attract business and people to the area. Good luck!
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I don't understand this - you plan on it a year ahead of time, fund it in the current budget, put out a schedule for it with less than a month away, then during NEXT year's budget discussion you cut cleanup out of THIS year. Something is not right with this.
Thank you Eric, Bob, and Belinda for trying.
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It should not have been canceled. People were planning on it. Auburn's city manager knew that this year's budget had problems with its funding but chose now to tell the council about how serious it was. He should have told us this back in January. We could have then worked as a group to come up with ways to save money. Auburn Residents should have been told of the short fall then as well and that Spring clean up would be canceled.
As for councilors stuffing their face, back in Jan we took a vote to not have the city provide meals on council and workshop meeting nights. It ended up 4-3 to keep them. To date out of principle Councilor Herrick and I have not ordered or ate a meal provided to the rest of the city councilors and mayor on these nights.
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Especially since they planned to cancel it next year. If councilors can fund stuffing their faces for every meeting they can fund spring clean up. You know it isn't that expensive, since workers are paid anyway. Time for civil disobedience. Everyone should place their trash out anyway and force the city to change their minds.
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