Voters on Wednesday and Saturday will get their opportunities to learn more about the town’s proposal to institute a new quarterly bill for trash removal
Town officials say the change is needed to alleviate budget pressures caused by the growing cost of disposing trash. However, some residents are describing the plan as a backdoor tax increase.
Tonight’s meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Senior Center. Saturday’s meeting will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the Public Library.
it will feature a presentation by town officials followed by an opportunity for residents to ask questions.
The proposed FY26 budget allocates $1.2 million for trash removal, or 56% more than it cost a decade ago. The increase has been driven by the increased cost of hauling away the trash, disposing it at a regional transfer facility, as well as increased volume, particularly cardboard boxes. While towns a decade ago could get rid of recycling at little to no cost, the recycling market has crashed and the cost of hauling away recycling is now as expensive as hauling away garbage.
“It’s imperative we find a way to take trash removal costs out of the budget,” said Town Manager Scott Lambiase, who hinted at the change during last year’s Annual Town Meeting.
“These continued 19% cost increases are only going to take away from needed services. So we need to do this and in a responsible way.”
The plan developed by Lambiase and the Select Board would pull the cost of trash removal out of the operating budget and pay for it through an enterprise fund paid for by quarterly bills sent to homeowners. A flyer circulated by the town estimates the new trash fee would run residents about $97 per quarter, or just under $400 annually, based on current costs. Seniors would be charged about $48 a quarter.
The town is looking to phase in the cost of the fees over the next five years in order to not hit homeowners all at once. The first year’s costs will be paid for out of the town’s free cash account. Every year, the amount paid by the town will drop 25%, with residents picking up the full freight in FY30.
Abington voters twice have approved overrides to help cover the cost of trash first in 1992 and then again in 2009. The 2009 vote, which passed by a 680-675 vote, raised taxes by $650,000 to cover the cost of trash collection.
Some residents on the town’s social media groups are calling the plan a hidden tax hike, as the previous override amounts will be blended into the larger operating budget.
Town officials point to the fact that Abington is one of the few local towns that does not already charge a separate fee for trash removal or even cut the service altogether. Residents in Holbrook and Hull, for example, have to hire private trash haulers on their own dimes. Cohasset, Scituate, Dxubury, and Bridgewater have their own transfer stations where residents bring their trash.
Voters at the Annual Town Meeting on April 7 will be asked to establish an enterprise fund that enables the policy change.
If voters reject the new trash fee, the town will have to find a different way to fund trash removal next year, including using one-time revenue sources or by making cuts in services and programs.
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