The City of Syracuse is revealing new detailsabout its proposal to semi-automate trash collection. But there's one particular part of the plan that was of concern to city residents at a recent public hearing.
The program would change a city ordinance so trash service would be limited to properties with up to three units. That means properties with 4 to 10 units, which are currently served by the city, would be required to arrange their own trash collection. Syracuse resident Peter Jacobs worries this policy would put a burden on tenants, not landlords.
"Unfortunately, in my area on West Onondaga Street and the Northside, and the place where these buildings tend to be, the 4 to 10 units, are in the poorer areas. As such, these tenants would be more would be, de facto, being taxed. It would cost them money to have this go forward. That's really the bottom line," Jacobs said.
Many others at the meetingvoiced similar concerns over the policy, warning that this could negatively impact low-income renters. But the City’s Chief Operations Officer Corey Driscoll Dunham said the change is a way to ensure all commercial properties are treated the same way.
"No other business receives this subsidy, which is paid for by Syracuse homeowners, and goes to an investors bottom line. It's nothing against these property owners, but these are commercial properties. And this is the only business that receives this subsidy," Driscoll Dunham said.
Despite concerns over that change, there is agreement that something needs to be done to get litter out of city streets and make trash collection safer for sanitation employees.
The proposal still needs to be approved by the Common Council to move forward. The city is hoping to distribute its first round of sanitation carts and begin the pilot program this summer.
