When a lawn debris pick up fee was first proposed last year, it became a contentious issue in the Town of Niskayuna. It turns out only about one in 10 homeowners opted out of the program, though.
The town sent out 7,387 bills to property owners this year and 990, or 13.5 percent, have opted out of the service as of Tuesday, Oct. 9. Town Clerk Michele Martinelli said a few residents changed their minds and paid the fee after opting out.
Niskayuna Supervisor Joe Landry said he was happy a large majority of residents continue to use the lawn debris pick up service.
“We thought that this was a fee that was necessary to continue to provide this service,” Landry said. “We were hoping that a majority of the people would be willing to pay. … It seems that a lot of residents wanted to continue this service.”
Councilman Jonathan McKinney, who voted against the fee, said the fee is realistic but the process is what bothered him.
“I think people understand paying for it, it was the process,” he said. “What people were upset about was there wasn’t much notice there was going to be a fee.”
McKinney didn’t opt out of the fee because his family uses the service, he said.
In January, the Niskayuna Town Board by a vote of 3-1 approved establishing a new fee for the town to pick up brush, grass, branches and other yard waste. Every resident or property owner is charged the $30 annual fee by default.
Every property owner wishing to avoid the fee and refuse the town’s service must file a notice with the town clerk prior to March 15 every year; otherwise, the fee will be charged every year it isn’t waived.
Homeowners opting out must also have their signature notarized, though that is not legally required for such a program. Landry previously said the measure was taken to ensure someone doesn’t maliciously stop the service to a resident without his or her knowledge.
“There was never logical reason why these forms needed to be notarized,” McKinney said. “It seemed like there was a lot of extra effort for doing something that you don’t want to do.”
Even with the low opt out rate, more than a third of the residents had not paid for the service as of Tuesday, with 2,303 delinquent bills out of 6,397 households. Martinelli said unpaid homeowners would have the $30 fee added to their January 2013 tax bill.
At least one resident who hasn’t paid his bill yet is planning to opt out next year.
Resident Tom Farney said he sent his opt out form late and tried to have the fee waived, but to no avail. He couldn’t recall when he sent the form, but said he missed the deadline by a “short margin” and hadn’t used the service.
“I would like to be taken on my word,” he said. “The service is driving up and down the street whether I am using it or not.”
The town budgeted for $150,000 in revenue to be received this year from the fee, but the actual revenue would total almost $192,000 if all bills were paid.
Landry placed $170,000 in revenue from the fee in his tentative 2013 budget, which he characterized as a “conservative” estimate.
“This is the number we feel is the right number to be putting into the budget,” Landry said.
The fee doesn’t include loose-leaf pick up, which all residents will continue to receive. The town tipping fees for loose-leaf and lawn debris is budgeted for $60,000 in next year’s proposed spending plan.