Rapid City’s mayor, Sam Kooiker, posted this on his FB page this morning;
The 8% garbage rate decrease passed unanimously in Public Works Committee yesterday. Members Ritchie Nordstrom, John Roberts, Chad Lewis, Ron Sasso and Bill Clayton all voted for it. It now heads to the full council on Monday for a vote. If approved, this will return $300,000 annually to the ratepayers. That’s not including the $100,000 we saved by having your new Public Works Director do the study in house instead of hiring an expensive out of town consultant to do it.
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/public-works-approves-decrease-in-garbage-fees/article_1de5f02e-0586-5df3-af55-8fcabbe0a120.html
Rapid City does not have private garbage haulers. It is a city-run service.
On a separate, but similar note, Why isn’t the city of Sioux Falls more proactive in tightening watering restrictions? I can’t believe we didn’t go to once-a-week a month ago. Might it be because the more water we use on lawns, the more money the city makes on revenue?
Sure, a lot of people have figured this out and cut back on our useless watering. Â I have not watered my lawn once this summer. Not only have I been saving money on water, I have been saving money on mowing my lawn. I think it has been almost 6-weeks since I have mowed. But I still see too many people watering every other morning because they can, and the water literally runs off their yards and down the street and they will keep doing this until Big Brother finally tells them to knock it off. Sheep.
Rapid City = single-payer system
Sioux Falls = Individual mandate + private companies
Rapid City’s system is cheaper? No way!
Maybe you should forward that to Obama, he didn’t seem to think the single-payer system was worth looking at.
Why does the City continue to water Mckennan Park and Riverdale Park when no other parks are being watered!!??
Also, about 10 days ago, I drove the boulevard street by Mckennan (21st) and they were watering the median so heavily that the water was running down the street for four blocks!!!!!
Context means everything. Do we know the current rates for Rapid City garbage service? If their rates are less than the average rate for a hauler in Sioux Falls then a rate decrease is nice, but if their rates are much higher, it is fairly meaningless.
As to water – why restrict water unless there isn’t enough to go around? With the L&C Pipeline I’m fairly sure we have more than enough to meet demand, and we pay for it whether we use it or not, so by allowing people to water it may help offset some of the fixed costs.
Do you understand the concepts of fixed costs versus variable costs? The infrastructure costs are essentially fixed as are the labor costs (for the most part), so the only variable costs are chemicals, electricity, and perhaps a small amount of increased maintenance. It makes sense to allow people to use as much water as they need or want provided we aren’t suffering from shortages.
And no – I’m not watering my lawn every other day. That is way too expensive for me and much like l3wis I sort of enjoy not having to mow every week. I think the last time I mowed was a month ago and even then it was only a few areas that really needed it.
Hey answered my own question – here are the rates for Rapid City:
35 gallons: $16.29/mo.
65 gallons: $18.30/mo.
95 gallons: $20.30/mo.
http://www.rcgov.org/Public-Works/solid-waste-col-monthly-sw-collection-rate.html
That is a few bucks cheaper than my service, although my service also includes a separate recycle pickup. From what I can tell on their website, Rapid City requires residents to drop off paper and cardboard at neighborhood drop locations while things like bottles and cans are picked up from a separate bin.
The hassle of taking all of my paper and cardboard to a community bin ten blocks away is less than appealing so I might be willing to pay few bucks more for curbside pickup.
The big haulers aren’t really competitive with Rapid’s pricing, but the small guys are on par with them, so I don’t see this as a huge issue. What am I missing?
I pay $100 for 6 months of service, so it is in the range. It was just nice to see a rate reduction from a city instead of an increase.
CR – I noticed the water running down the street to, and spraying all over my car as I was driving down the street.
Something to consider is the many private trash hauler trucks when one once a week works for city trash service. On the other hand, the city screws up everything & better to keep trash privatized. Rapid City is democracy. I envy their freedom.
Lewis – how are your trees and shrubs doing? Will you be replacing them next year (over-winter root death) and waiting 25 years for them to be worth mentioning?
Ruf – Nice Snark 🙂 I love you.
I don’t have a problem with private haulers, but there is a better way to do everything. I mentioned today to an elected official that the recycling companies should handle the pickup, and let the garbage companies only pickup garbage. Just an idea.
Great – one more fleet of heavy vehicles on the residential streets. You must LOVE potholes 🙂
And my concern for your trees is genuine – not snarkified.
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