The City of Wayland will put to voters the question of who and how many will be a trash hauler within the city limits.
Because the State Legislature has decided to put a road funding proposal on the ballot for the May 5 election, it won’t cost the city a thing to add its local issue, except attorney’s fees for providing the wording.
State law provides four dates each year for elections, but unless there are also state or national elections that the same time, the local government has to pay for having them. The state, by asking Michigan voters to decide on a proposed one-cent rise in the sales tax, from six to seven cents, has let the city off the hook, as well as Dorr Township, Martin Township and Hopkins Public Schools, all of which will tack on their local ballot proposals as well.
For the City of Wayland, the question voters must decide is whether they want to continue having six to eight trash haulers operate in the city, or have just one, the lowest bidder, which turned out to be Republic last summer. Other pickups now are provided by Everkept, Arrowwaste, Potter’s, Farmer’s Disposal, Allied Waste Services, Bob’s Disposal and Sunset.
City officials maintain that having so many refuse services means that different trucks are running along city streets on at least four days a week and putting a little more wear and tear on the pavement than there needs to be.
One question council must decide is whether to say on the ballot proposal that Republic is the service that would be contracted.
City Manager Mike Selden said the deadline for sending in the ballot wording is Feb. 10.