Largo : City to save recycling

City to save recycling
By DAVE SHELTON

LARGO – City Commissioners reached into the trash bin last week, pulled out its recycling program and figured out how to recycle the program that was scheduled to be dumped at the landfill.

Earlier this year, city staff reported the number of people sorting their trash had dropped so low it was becoming too expensive to keep the program going. City Manager Steve Stanton tossed the program out when formulating a new city budget for the next two years.

Public works numbers showed only 25 percent of city residents were using the blue recycling containers and sorting glass and paper.

But, then word got out.

Letters to the Editor and scores of e-mails from constituents almost unanimously, and loudly, opposed plans to dump their favorite environmental effort.

“Is there anyone here who wants us to wipe this out?” asked Mayor Pat Gerard during the commission’s Aug. 24 workshop meeting. She was greeted, at first, by silence.

The commissioners then voted unanimously to restore some $250,000 a-year to the city budget to retain the program and to encourage more residents to recycle. This would include hiring a recycling coordinator to oversee the program and increase participation.

The coordinator would cost the city nearly $60,000 a year.

Commissioner Harriet Crozier said she was recently impressed by a recycling program she saw in action during a visit to Phoenix, Ariz.

Commissioner Gay Gentry said she felt Largo actually abandoned its recycling efforts several years ago when, during a budget crisis, the recycling coordinator position was abandoned. She said she believed that the 25 percent of residents now using recycling are a hard-core base but that another 50 percent of residents just need to be convinced of the importance of recycling.

Stanton said that, with a restructured city marketing department during the next two years, a coordinator can build a marketing program that would make recycling more popular.

In other budget action, it appears commissioners are prepared to give themselves a raise this year. Facing criticism over tax increases the past several years the commission had rejected any pay increase for its members. Commissioners are paid $12,000 a-year and the mayor $18,000.

The city also provides them with expense accounts, health benefits and retirement funds.

Crozier broached the subject during the Aug. 24 meeting. Commissioner Mary Gray Black said she has vowed “not to vote to increase our salary while I am in office.”

“I came on the commission knowing what the stipend was so I really feel that I do not want any increase,” said Black.

Commissioner Andy Guyette, noting elected officials in other cities are paid more than in Largo, suggested a 4 percent pay increase for commissioners, similar to that being given to other city employees.

Gerard said some commissioners don’t need the money but others might.

“People ask you to donate (to their causes) all the time,” she said. She explained that the elected officials are barraged by requests for their attendance at special events “some that are pretty expensive” and to contribute to charities.

A consensus appeared to support a 4 percent raise for the commissioners.

There was less support for a proposed increase in legal fees next year, based on litigation expected by City Attorney Alan Zimmet.

“I thought we were resolving some of our conflicts,” commented Gerard.

“Most of the disputes weren’t initiated by us,” explained Stanton. “We’re anticipating some action about our sewer (connection outside of city limits) policies and last year’s annexation of the Evatone Corporation. There’s still potential litigation with the school district over our stormwater fees.”

Guyette said he didn’t want to increase the budget for legal fees by $150,000 just yet. He was concerned the commission then wouldn’t be aware of what it had spent until after the city was committed to even more money later in the year.

“I’m looking for us to use more diplomacy in resolving these issues,” Gerard said. “I think we can take a different tack than we have in recent years – less confrontational-and I think we can save some legal fees in that way.”

It was decided to cut the administration’s $150,000 increase to just $100,000.