LEWISTON — The fate of a paid trash collection program could hinge on how sure city councilors are that the program would save money and how likely it is that the money would stay in taxpayers’ pockets.

“What people see is that they pay property taxes,” Councilor Tim Lajoie said Tuesday night during a City Council workshop. “If there is a savings to be realized, my question is, how do I realize that savings as John Q. Public?”

Councilors will decide whether they should proceed with a paid trash education program at their March 1 meeting.

If they proceed, the city will begin a public process to decide whether Lewiston should begin selling special bags. Curbside trash would be collected only if it is in one of those bags.

Councilors said they’d use the time leading up to the March 1 meeting to get more information and investigate alternatives. Those alternatives could involve doing away with the e-pass program that lets residents dump bulky waste in the city landfill, according to Councilor Mike Lachance.

“By my thinking, we should be looking at getting rid of the extra services before we look at getting rid of basic services,” Lachance said.

City Administrator Ed Barrett laid out the financial case for the new program Tuesday night.

Lewiston pays $570,826 to operate the current curbside trash collecting program from its property-tax-fed General Fund. That covers what the city pays to have Pine Tree Waste collect the trash from single-family homes, duplexes and three-unit buildings; what the city pays to have the Mid-Maine Waste Action Corp. incinerate the trash; and what the city pays to have recycling collected at the curb.

It also includes revenues: what multifamily building owners pay to be part of the city program and the fees the city charges MMWAC to dispose of the incinerator ash.

The city pays nothing to have Casella sort and cart away recycled waste because the company’s operation is in Lewiston. Other communities pay up to $30 per ton to have Casella take their recyclables, Barrett said.

Public Works Director Dave Jones said the way to reduce solid waste costs is to replace the fees paid to MMWAC — $42.50 per ton, according to the current agreement — by sending more of that waste to Casella’s recycling facility.

“The whole crux of the pay-as-you-throw program is to increase our recycling rate, which brings our cost down because we don’t have as much going to the incinerator,” Jones said.

Representatives from Waste Zero, the contractor the city is working with to start the paid program, said theirs is the best way to increase recycling. People who throw out more trash pay more and people who recycle more pay less.

“Down in the Southern part of the country they call this current system Socialized Trash,”, said Steve Lisauskas, vice president of government affairs for Waste Zero. “Everything else you do is free market. You pay for the electricity you use, you pay for the water you use. But we look at solid waste as different. Everybody pays the same amount, no matter how much they throw out.”

Residents would buy special trash bags at local stores, according to the program. City crews would only collect curbside trash left in those bags.

City recycling would continue to be free, and the paid bag program would let the city stop paying for curbside trash collection with property taxes.

The bags would likely sell for about $2 for a 30-gallon bag and about $1.25 for a 15-gallon bag. All residents would be able to leave their trash out in the special bags.

The savings could be used to pay down the city’s tax rate, reducing it by about 66 cents for an entire year of the program, or about 44 cents for part of the year. That would be a savings of between $99 and $66 in property taxes on a $150,000 home.

City councilors approved a deal with Waste Zero last July, paying $30,000 for a 12-month education and promotion program. But Barrett said that program was largely on hold until the new councilors could weigh in.

Tuesday night, councilors said the program is very unpopular.

“This is a hot issue, which is why we are here rethinking it,” Councilor Jim Lysen said.

Lajoie said making sure taxpayers see their tax bills reduced is key.

“I think there is skepticism, a perspective among taxpayers that they’ll ever see any savings,” Lajoie said. “Instead of finding any savings, we’ll just spend it on something else.”

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