St. Louis County Council members, with a 5-to-2 vote, approved a series of trash hauling contracts for the next five years. Those two dissenting votes came from Democrat Steve Stenger and Republican Greg Quinn.
Stenger said he wasn’t comfortable with all eight trash districts receiving coverage from one of two trash giants: Allied Waste and IESI.
“Our program begins to look more and more like a monopoly. It’s concerning to me,” Stenger said. “I’d really rather see a three-year contract that is up for renewal and up for oversight by the County every three years instead of every five years.”
The previous set of contracts had three years in length, but the County administration believed a longer contract would mean cheaper prices.
Monthly rates under the new contracts are down, by an average of about $2 per household, but Stenger disputes that the longer commitment is the cause.
After the Council vote, County Executive Charlie Dooley issued a statement proclaiming the lowered rates. “That’s a wonderful thing to be able to tell citizens in these tough economic times,” the statement reads. “A half decade from now, you’ll still be paying less than you are today to have your household trash hauled off.”
As one resident said, "If you think it's too good to be true, it's not. There's no way these rates will be the same 5 years from now."
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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I learned at a very early age that anything that sounds too good to be true IS. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Thanks to Mr. Stenger and Mr. Quinn for being the only members of the county council with consciences and common sense, and concern for the will of the people that elected them. The rest of them are a bunch of invertebrates, or equally as corrupt as Dooley.
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