“Penny wise and Pound foolish”

Mariemont is a walkable community where residents enjoy many conveniences that other communities do not. One of these is the pickup of recyclables and garbage from the rear of the homes. In discussing this convenience with two realtors that focus their sales in Mariemont, both indicated that this distinguishing service was a significant selling point for real-estate in the Village and helped to sell our homes at the highest prices in the County or about $225-$250 per square foot.

Now the Village officials are considering moving recycling pickup to the curb for a savings of $17,000 per year according to the Easter Hills Journal article on January 29^th.  With approximately 1300 household in Mariemont, this figure equates to $13.07 per year per household. With convenience and ambience and real-estate values in mind, this is the height of “penny wise and pound foolish.” Already we are paying a $75 per year waste collection fee plus a $2 dollars sticker fee for each waste container. According to the budgetary figures for the Village of Mariemont in 2013, these fees and assessments provided approximately $204,000 to subsidize waste collection. The Village kicked in about $80,000 to fulfill the waste collection contracts.

When municipal budgets are under stress, elected officials tend to cut services and this appears to be the case in this instance. Unfortunately, in many, if not most, communities curbside recycling is only the prelude to curb waste collection.

With regard to recycling, do we really want our curbs cluttered for over 24 hours per week with a cost savings of 3.6 cents per day per household? And how about the inconvenience and how you must make arrangements when you are away for whatever reason?  This issue makes Mariemont special and should be openly discussed. What an issue to lay on a Council comprised of 50% new members?