The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net

By RICHARD HARRIS (From the Aug. 2, 2006 issue)
The Marion County Commission held a work session last week to discuss the new curbside garbage pickup service, which is scheduled to begin in October. While there are still specific details to iron out, commissioners are upbeat about the new service and believe it will be good for the county.

Commission Chairman George Neal Jr. estimates that it currently costs the county around $314,000 per year to operate the present "dumpster" garbage system in which local residents take their own garbage to one of the "green box" dumpsters located in various places across the county. The county then must use a garbage truck to pick up and haul away the trash at each of the dumpsters. The county must also deal with various items dumped illegally in and around the dumpsters.

With the new curbside system, each household will receive one 95-gallon container included with the monthly fee, which was initially estimated to be around $15-$16, but is not set in stone. Commissioners have not yet released details for how households will be billed for the curbside garbage service. One possibility being discussed is adding it to property tax bills.

While not finalized, extra containers are expected to cost around an additional 60 percent per month ($9.30 if the monthly charge is $15.50, making the total monthly fee for those with two containers $24.80). However, according to Commission Chairman George Neal Jr., TransWaste estimates that less than one percent of its current customers use more than one container.

Some local residents have voiced concerns about whether or not the garbage trucks will travel down some of the rural roads in the county, including dirt roads, so that they will be able to actually provide the curbside service. Commissioner Neal has stated, "It is my goal for them to go down every dirt road that allows them an opportunity to turn around."

As noted earlier, commissioners haven't set a final price for the service yet, but based on estimates, the newspaper projects the total cost (combining all household user fees in the county) to be around $386,322 per year. That estimated cost is not an official estimate from the Commission, which is still finalizing fees, etc., before the new system begins operation.

The figure used in this article for the total projected cost of the curbside garbage service is an estimate made by the newspaper based on the Commission's estimated cost per month/per household, along with Marion County population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Commissioners estimate the per-month/per-household fee will be between $15-$16, and the Census Bureau estimates that there are 5,547 people in the unincorporated portion of the county (residents of the incorporated City of Buena Vista already receive curbside garbage service through the city government). The Census Bureau says that in the state of Georgia, the average household is comprised of 2.67 people.

So, the formula used by the newspaper for the estimated cost of the new garbage service was: 5,547 residents ÷ 2.67 people per household = 2,077 households; 2,077 households x $15.50 per month = $32,193; $32,193 x 12 months = $386,322 per year.

Obviously, if the final per-household user fee turns out to be lower or higher than the figure used in this estimate, the actual total will be lower or higher. Also, if the number of actual households served turns out to be lower or higher than the newspaper's estimate of total households, the actual total will be different. There are additional variables, too, such as the possibility of a small number of households electing to pay for an additional trashcan. This is merely a "ball-park" estimate from the editor, who is neither a mathematician nor a statistician.