Rank: Taxpayer
Joined: 10/30/2008
Posts: 8
Points: -73
Location: Portsmouth, VA
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One of my biggest gripes about the fees that I am charged as a Portsmouth resident is the $32.00 monthly charge for refuse. I've dug around the Internet and made a few phone calls to compile the following residential rates as comparisons.
Refuse Fees:
Portsmouth - $32.00/mo.
Norfolk - $16.50/mo.
Newport News - $19.12/mo.
Chesapeake - Included in city taxes
Virginia Beach - Included in city taxes
Comparing Portsmouth to Norfolk for 2009 Waste Management Budget:
Portsmouth - $13,280,850, serving 32,685 customers.
Norfolk - $19,748,393, serving 75,000 customers.
Norfolk does not include street sweeping in the waste management budget as Portsmouth does. On the other hand, Norfolk budgets for weekly recyclables pickup which Portsmouth doesn't.
Am I the only Portsmouth resident that finds the refuse fee to be outrageously high (see poll above)? Perhaps one of y'all has better insight into what services we receive that would justify our fees being so much higher?
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Rank: Taxpayer
Joined: 10/30/2008
Posts: 2
Points: 6
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Is it free in suffolk I heard theres was pretty low too. In fact I think they pay a flat $50 per year. Let me confirm.
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Rank: Administration
Joined: 10/13/2008
Posts: 6
Points: 27
Location: Portsmouth
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I'd rather deliver my own trash to the dump than pay $8.00 a week for pickup. I'm willing to bet a private company can do the job for cheaper.
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Rank: Taxpayer
Joined: 10/30/2008
Posts: 8
Points: -73
Location: Portsmouth, VA
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administrator wrote:I'd rather deliver my own trash to the dump than pay $8.00 a week for pickup. I'm willing to bet a private company can do the job for cheaper. Unfortunately, one of our other members tried this a couple of years ago and was told by Portsmouth that he couldn't have water/sewage without refuse.
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Rank: Taxpayer
Joined: 11/4/2008
Posts: 1
Points: 3
Location: P-town
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Reading through the state and city code, it seems there is little that can be done about this. The state allows localities to heavily regulate waste disposal. Portsmouth goes so far as to require trash generated in Portsmouth to be disposed of in Portsmouth, and that private refuse companies only dump at city owned facilities. I'm guessing they charge them plenty as well. There really shouldn't be a monopoly on garbage. You also make mention of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach including refuse pickup in their taxes. Chesapeake's current tax rate is $1.05, and Virginia Beach is at $0.89. Portsmouth's is $1.21. We're being screwed over here.
ETA: I found this on Hampton's site: "The current solid waste fee is $4.25 per week for recycling households and $10.00 per week for non-recycling households" At least they'll give a good discount if you recycle.
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Rank: Taxpayer
Joined: 1/22/2009
Posts: 1
Points: 3
Location: P-Town
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I know I may be the bad guy here, but there are limitations to taking trash to the dump without paying. I have been going to the dump for years with my truck and there are a few things you need to know before you choose that as a means of refuse disposal. First, each vehicle that brings trash is recorded and only allowed 12 trips per year. Second, you are limited to what you can bring and what you can't bring (i.e. no logs over 6 feet in length or greater than 6 inches in diameter, and other similiar rules). Third, the closest dump is out on 58 which for me,living in Churchland, is a 20 minute drive one way and about 3 gallons of gas in my truck (at $2.5 per gallon of diesel...). Your trucks may be better on gas, and you might be closer to the dump, but when factoring time, gas, convenience you can't beat $8 per week.
Now to the positives of having the city pick up our trash. This city has three different kinds of trucks that go around on trash days. A general refuse pick-up, which collects items that will not fit in your trash can. A yard debris truck, which WILL take very large trees and yard debris (I've had them take up 40" diameter logs several weeks in a row). And finally the normal trash can pick-up truck which gets your city can trash.
As a side note, when criminals throw thier trash on the side of the road, and I'm talking about old sofas, refrigerators, and the like; who is going to pick it up? Our city does. The other cities look to fine whomevers' property it's on to get it removed. I for one don't want to look at it for weeks before it's picked up, and have even coordinated neighborhood clean-up days to help out with the little stuff that so many people in P-Town think it's OK to throw out thier window. I know it isn't perfect, but someone has to get paid to clean it up.
We do not recycle because it doesn't save any money. In fact ALL recyclries have to be government subsidized because it costs more to recycle than to just dump. I know this from the BFI recylery Plant in Cavalier Industrial Park Chesapeake was run by a close friend of mine. Recycling makes us feel good, so our government spends taxpayer dollars to enable it.
Most of the other cities in this region don't provide some or all of these services, which is why it costs less for them. Also it's not a fair comparison to simply compare tax rates between cities necessarily. Virginia Beach can afford .89 tax rate when thier taxable property values are 1.5-2 times what ours are, it actually costs more. Chesapeake is the same. Now don't get me wrong, I DO want the city to lower our tax rates, but that is going to have to be after we can get Council to agree to fiscal spending limitations, and stop voting away our childrens futures.
I do however feel Portsmouth should give the opt out choice for those who want to do it themselves, but then how will that be regulated (i.e. how will the trashmen know you're not paying for it when all your neighbors are)?
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