JAY — Residents will have a chance to fill out a survey in November on whether they want to keep the town’s curbside pickup of trash and recyclables.

Copies of the survey are expected to be given out at the polls.

Voters overwhelmingly voted to keep the curbside service in 2010.

The Board of Selectpersons discussed having a survey at its meetings in June.

“It is not really going to save the taxpayers a whole lot of money,” Bord of Selectpersons Chair Steve McCourt said.

The board has cut the budget for solid waste disposal, which includes single-sort recycling, from $1.4 million in 2010 to $650,600 for 2013-14.

Last year the budget was $784,500.

Over the years, the board eliminated Dumpster pickup services for businesses and eliminated personnel. Revenues also decreased with seven of 10 towns ending contracts with Jay. Of the remaining three, Canton has chosen not to renew its contract as of July 1.

Selectperson Tim DeMillo said about the only place left to reduce in the solid waste budget is to eliminate curbside pickup service. The board has been looking for ways to reduce the $6 million municipal budget.

“We need to be constantly looking for ways and places to save money,” Selectperson Tom Goding said. “You need to look at everything.”

“I love my curbside pickup,” resident Sylvia Ridley said. “I really like what we have now.”

The net amount to be cut from the budget would be $128,100, McCourt said.

The gross amount to provide the curbside service is currently $189,100, highway foreman John Johnson, who also oversees the transfer station, told the board.

“It is important to note that the gross amount of curbside collection would not equal the savings actually realized if the service was not funded,” he said.

One of two employees involved in curbside collection would need to be retrained as the facility would still be operated six days a week, 48 hours a week, he said.

The town would still service two other communities, and trucking functions would continue to be in-house, he said.

The two remaining employees would not be able to operate the facility, requiring a third which would reduce the savings realized by eliminating curbside collection to a net of amount of $128,100, Johnson said.

Based on the town’s current commitment and current tax rate, the net cost of curbside collection adds 11 cents to the tax rate, he said.

The curbside collection truck makes about 1,950 stops and travels an average of about 250 miles per week, to collect solid waste and single-sort recyclables, he said.

An analysis based on 2012 figures shows that 73 percent of the single-sort recyclables collected in Jay is picked up at the curb, Johnson said.

An analysis shows that 64 percent of the municipal solid waste is collected at curbside, he said.

Goding and DeMillo said they didn’t see any harm to having a survey for residents.

“I don’t see how you can turn a blind eye to any savings,” Goding said. “It is up to the taxpayers if they want savings or they don’t.”

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