The Salem Lakes Village Board opted to keep bulk garbage item pickup once a month and accept an increase from its garbage collection firm.
Johns Disposal garbage and recycling pick-up service fee will increase 6.1 percent increase to $14.86 per unit per month for 2019, an 89 cent per month increase over the 2018 monthly rate of $13.96 per month per unit.
Johns had proposed having pickup of bulk items — things too big for the garbage tote — to go to a phone-in basis. Instead of having a regular monthly bulk pickup day, residents would have to call Johns and arrange a pickup. In exchange for the new bulk pick-up arrangement, Johns proposed foregoing the increase for the garbage collection part of their fee; recycling pickup was still to increase.
But at Monday’s regular meeting, Village Board members said they felt keeping the current arrangement for bulk pickup on a designated week was worth foregoing the savings of 89 cents per month.
“I didn’t know if it (the savings) was worth it and the people I talked to didn’t think it was worth it,” said village President Diann Tesar.
Accepting the rate increase with the current bulk item pickup passed the board unanimously.
Earlier in the meeting, resident Chris Skrzynecki complained about Johns truck leaking fluids on village roads. A company representative at the meeting said he would personally look into the problem and met with Skrzynecki in the hall outside the meeting room.
