Over the New Years holiday, I received an e-mail from a resident expressing some concerns about out solid waste collection. He felt that the Solid Waste department should review its policy with regard to make-up days following a holiday. This year was unique for people whose regular collection is Thursday, because Thanksgiving, Christmas day and New Years day all fell on a Thursday. I was able to understand the difficulties and empathize with the resident because I, too, experienced on collection on these dates.
The City of Boynton Beach is not unlike many other entities, both public and private, where revenues to cover the cost of operations have fallen dramatically and normal increases in expenses continue. Generally, the public has expressed a desire not to increase taxes or fees. So we have found it necessary to identify modifications in services in order to minimize cost increases to the public.
This past year, the City identified nearly $10M in potential service modifications that would help maintain stable taxes and fees. Garbage collection was one such service and the lack of 
collection, or a make-up day, on the three referenced holidays is one of the impacts of the service modification. In the past, we collected residential garbage/recycling four times a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday). We were able to utilize both Wednesday and Saturday to accommodate make-up days. However, we were able to balance our costs with revenue by changing to a six day collection schedule. This allowed us to plan the sale of five garbage trucks and not fund their future replacement. The trucks were each valued at an average cost of $200K, so the saving is notable.
The City staff and Commission didn’t decide to make these service changes without due process and public discussion. Although the changes to garbage collection are not popular among many, other popular programs were spared as a result of this action.
Lastly, the days for Christmas and New Years holidays will change each year. In addition, we do have a drop off location for recyclable goods at 202 NE 9th Ave. should anyone wish to use that option.
I appreciated this resident taking the time to comment. I urged him to consider involving himself in the budget discussions this coming year. We very much value public input in this important process so that we can best identify the services most important to the public.
