Change Proposed to Garbage Collection

Garbage was once again a main topic of discussion during the Harrison Town Board meeting Thursday night, as Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh proposed a change that would allow disabled or handicapped residents to apply for permits that would circumnavigate recent changes to rubbish collection.

Some Harrison residents have loudly apposed a new law requiring that garbage be brought to the curb for pickup. Previously, sanitation workers had driven up some driveways for collections. The town has said that it expects the change to shed about $1 million from next year's budget.

Walsh's proposal would allow for a very limited number of residents to apply for on-property pickup. Those awarded permits would have their garbage collected once a week on a seperate day.

"There are people who are severely handicapped who absolutely cannot do this and are the only people in their houses," Walsh said during the board meeting. "I would like to propose to the board that we ask people for applications, we see what these handicaps are, and we grant a limited number of permits."

Although there was no immediate objection to the idea, Comimisioner of Public Works Anthony Robinson questioned the feasability of the proposal.

"Limitation on the number of permits is going to be very important for me," Robinson said to the board. "I don't want to not have the ability to do what you guys are trying to do."

The amount of people that the town can approve for permits would depend largely on location, not necessarily the number of applicants. Walsh said that she plans to keep the number of permits at about 100, adding that not all applicants will be given a permit.

"I would say maybe a third of the people who called I would not think would be severely handicapped, just from their own descriptions of what they had," she said. "It will be hard and there will be people who are extremely disappointed."

The proposal appeared to have been a last minute addition to the agenda. It was not voted on in order to give town leaders an oppurtunity to look into the matter. A public hearing will be held on March 18.

Although no changes were made official, Councilman Joe Cannella said that some type of permit program has been in consideration since the change was originally made. The town is now looking for a way to bring assitance to the people that are the most in need.

"It is going to be limited, it is going to be severely limited," said Cannella.  "Before you put in an application look in your heart and in your soul and in the mirror and say, do I need this?"