Residents Could Be Forced To Pay For Trash Pick-up

By Denise Yost | Managing Editor, nbc4i.com
Published: December 1, 2008
Updated: December 11, 2008

[dateline] -- The City of Columbus is facing a bleak financial future.

FAST FACTS:

$60 to $80 million is the projected shortfall for the next year alone.
Already on the table is Mayor Michael Coleman's proposal to balance the budget by laying off 130 workers, closing 12 city recreation centers and five pools.
His proposal also involves imposing a hiring freeze on police and fire, and freezing some salaries.
But it all may not be enough to help the following year, NBC 4's Mikaela Hunt reported.

Currently, Columbus residents don't pay for trash collection service, but that could change.

Bob Howrath spent time as chief of staff for former Ohio Gov. Jim Rhodes and former Columbus Mayor Dana "Buck" Rinehart

He's now chairing Columbus' economic advisory committee of public and private individuals looking for long-term solutions to the city's budget crisis.

One option: you pay for trash and save the city nearly $50 million a year.

"We've not done that before, so we can start doing that and take a big chunk of the problem away," Howrath said.

One resident NBC 4 spoke with said she isn't sure about the proposal.

"There's some people who are struggling to pay bills month-to-month," said B.J. Abrams, a Columbus resident.

The other option, according to Howrath, would be new taxes, and some resident say that's better than paying for your trash.

"I'd rather pay out of income than be nickel and dimed," another resident said.

The committee will meet in December to go over possible new revenue options.

They'll ask for public input in January.

Their recommendations will most likely play a role in the 2010 budget.

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