AUBURN – Auburn would charge landlords to collect trash at multiple-family apartment buildings, according to a budget saving plan unveiled Monday.

Charging for services would be the easiest way to cut trash collections costs and still keep landlords and tenants happy, according to Assistant City Manager Mark Adams. Councilors had agreed in May to stop trash collections at those apartment buildings as a part of $780,000 in budget cuts.

“But we tried to come up with a way to achieve the same thing with the least impact on Auburn residents,” Adams said.

The city currently does not collect trash or recycled trash at buildings with seven or more apartments. Adams suggested the city could begin charging landlords with between four and seven apartments. Landlords living in their apartment buildings would be exempt from the fee, he said.

Lewiston began charging for its trash collections earlier this summer, and Adams said Auburn’s policy is almost identical. Buildings with between four and seven apartments would be charged $1.54 per unit per week to have trash collected. For four-unit apartment buildings, that’s $320 per year.

The changes would apply to 209 apartment buildings in Auburn and generate an estimated $62,880 per year. Adams said trash collections to those buildings cost the city an estimated $57,000 annually.

“The savings we were talking about by stopping collections was about $30,000,” Adams said. “This cuts the same costs, but it’s easier to implement.”

Adams said he planned to present the policy to local landlords next week and bring it before councilors for a vote in October. The city would begin charging for collections on Dec. 1, if councilors approve.

Councilors did approve, but Councilor Marcel Bilodeau said he objected to giving resident landlords a break on the fee.

“Whether they are a corporate citizen or resident, I think the fees should be the same for everyone,” Bilodeau said. “If we feel the need to pass these costs along to them, we should pass them along equally.”

Adams said resident landlords were given a break because the city wants to encourage landlords to live on their properties. They tend to be better maintained, he said.

Mayor Norm Guay suggested councilors accept the new policy as is, but agree to reconsider it in June 2004.

City Manager Pat Finnigan said staff would present changes to the city’s annual spring cleanup after the trash collection issue was settled. In June, councilors agreed to cut spring clean up for a $25,000 in savings.

staylor@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link