By Yasmeen Mohiuddin
Centretown businesses still have to find ways to dump their garbage.
But Clive Doucet, councillor for Capital ward, says city council could reconsider the service cut in the next budget, depending on whether taxes increase.
“The cost of restoring garbage collection would be more than three per cent,” says Doucet. “Three per cent is just the cost of living increase.”
Jean Martin, owner of Images on Bank, says he doesn’t understand why the city didn’t raise taxes and keep the garbage collection service instead of canceling it. He currently shares the cost of garbage collection with the store next door for roughly $600 a year.
“It’s kind of shocking that they don’t pick up the garbage,” says Martin. “That should be an essential service.”
The extra cost may not seem like much, he says, but with the $15,000 property taxes he pays annually, it’s an extra burden.
“What am I paying my taxes for?” asks Martin. “It’s not like the street is being policed, it’s not like the street is that clean.”
Doucet was one of the councillors who voted to reverse the original decision in May.
“We did everything we could at the time,” he says. “Most people accepted we couldn’t do anything further. The will of council was to not turn it over.”
The service elimination has caused dissatisfaction with some small business owners in the Centretown area, says Gerry LePage, executive director of the Bank Street Business Improvement Association (BIA).
“It has redefined how garbage is collected,” says LePage. “They’re finding and employing means other than private collectors.”
LePage says some businesses didn’t face too many adjustments because they were already using private waste management companies. The city had a five-bag limit per building, so buildings with multiple businesses inside had no choice but to find another company that allowed more bags.
According to LePage, the Bank Street BIA worked with other BIAs in the city to try to procure one company at a membership rate for those businesses that were interested.
“Some businesses did in fact sign with other waste management firms other than the ones we recommended,” says LePage.
Other businesses, such as Organized Sound on Bank Street, have found less expensive ways to adjust to the change. Andy Cant, who works at the music store, says he’s been putting his garbage in the bin belonging to the tenants living above him.
“We just were fortunate that our landlord owns property above us.”
Cant says he received calls from companies as far away as Calgary offering to pick up five bags of trash a week for $15.
“It seemed really absurd,” says Cant. “We don’t have even a bag’s worth of garbage in a week.”
He says residents near the store often don’t get their garbage picked up because city waste collectors mistake the whole block for a commercial area and bypass any apartments.
“They’ve had to call the city a number of times to make a point that they are an apartment, so there’s nowhere else to put their garbage,” says Cant.
Martin agrees the transition hasn’t been smooth.
“I actually wanted to bring my garbage to City Hall and dump it there,” he jokes.
Martin says he attended the city council meeting in May when the bid to overturn the cancellation was rejected. “Sitting there in that council meeting was very frustrating.”
But he remains philosophical about the situation. “To me they’re growing pains I think we’ll figure out as we go along.”
Both the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee and city council have already begun reviewing the Budget Directions Report as a guide for the 2005 budget.