December 28, 2007
By TED STRONG
A
Jesse Wolosky gave Mayor Michael Spekhardt an ultimatum: "You have five minutes to decide if you're resigning."
He didn't, so Wolosky and his supporters carried through on their threat to begin a drive to recall not just Spekhardt, but also Deputy Mayor Brian Brady and council member Manny Goldberg.
Goldberg and Brady voted with Spekhardt to institute the garbage service.
An overflowing crowd of about 100 shouted the mayor down periodically, particularly when he tried to hurry Wolosky along in his remarks.
The only way to avoid a special election, which would come no sooner than mid-March, would now be for the council to repeal the ordinance.
Wolosky, and many other supporters of his position, argued that the town's contract with Blue Diamond waste haulers would be filled with hidden fees, while the mayor held that the proposed fee of $240 would be the total amount residents would pay.
Many residents currently pay more than $240 annually for their garbage pickup, contracting individually with haulers like Waste Management. But others take their refuse to the county landfill, usually not paying more than a few dollars a load.
Some residents said it was unfair to restrict their freedom to choose a hauler and to make them pay for their neighbors, who generate more trash.
"You're asking me to subsidize their savings," resident Audrey Earl said.
But the mayor said that without the mandatory collection it would be impossible to tell how much garbage the town actually generates, which would preclude the use of pay-as-you-throw and other systems in the future.
And he said he had to serve the majority, even if it was to the disadvantage of the minority.
"Tell them, please, that you're asking to recall the mayor because he refused to abandon the 90 percent of the town that would benefit," he said.
Another point of contention was that the referendum already approved will be, technically, not on the town's contract with Blue Diamond, but on the ordinance setting up a municipal authority to collect payments from residents.
After the issue came up several times, Spekhardt said that if the township killed the municipal authority at the polls, he would not seek to fund the collection contract through taxes and instead let it die, too. Goldberg joined him in his pledge.
"If the township does not approve the utility, if the township said they do not want that, I would not go forward with taxes," Spekhardt said.
