Fall River’s Mayor announces a new Pay As You Throw plan

By Ana Bottary

abottary@abc6.com

@anabottary

Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia announced Tuesday, the city will privatize trash collecting services. It will save the city nearly $8.7 million dollars over the next 10 years. However, it’ll cost dozens of union jobs. One union member telling us it could up to 30.
 
"It is very disturbing what he has announced today that unilaterally the city is going to sign a contract with a private carrier without concluding the bargaining process that by law they have to do,"says David Robbins, Contract Coordinator of Teamsters Local 251.
 
Robbins says they had offered the city two days this week to negotiate.

"Instead the way they got back to us is not to accept further dates for bargaining. Because they have until June 1st to put a budget forward to the city council their response was to send the union a letter declaring unilaterally declaring an impassee in negotiations,"he says.

The union feels the mayor has not negotiated in good faith, and what he has done is illegal.
 
"We have a lawyer, they have a lawyer. Our lawyer believes we have met the legal ramifications to declare an impass,"says Mayor Jasiel Correia.
 
Meanwhile the purple bags will remain. Sticking to his word, Mayor Correia is eliminating the controversial pay as you throw trash fee’s.

"We will subsidize trash collection and the cost of disposal with your hard earned tax dollars. We are not going to charge you an addition 120 dollar fee next fiscal year, that is a commitment we have made,"says Correia.

Mayor Correia says there has only been 60 percent partial compliance with people using the mandatory purple trash bags. The new enforcement will require people to use them, or face a fine.

"We are going to follow what is current ordinance, which is the 100 dollar fine," Mayor Correia says.

Each week people don’t use the trash bags, the fine will go up… Ultimately resulting in the city removing trash cans all together.

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