PLANS TO COMPOST PROCEED

Cape Girardeau officials are hoping a new composting operation that will start next year will be better received by residents than a city-wide recycling program implemented this year.

At Monday's city council study session Public Works Director Doug Leslie explained the new program, which will be instituted in order to comply with Missouri law that will prohibit yard waste in landfills after Jan. 1.

In other business, the council discussed possible changes in the city budget process that would allow greater accountability in terms of the effectiveness of various city programs.

Leslie said the city will offer residents biodegradable paper sacks at $1.25 each to collect yard waste for the city's collection and composting.

"Homeowners, preferably, can deal with their own yard waste, either by mulching or with their own composting operation," he said. "But landfill space is at a premium and the state has concerns about filling landfills with materials that might have other uses such as composting."

Leslie said yard waste now constitutes 18 to 20 percent of the overall solid waste stream. He said the compost program could be operated in connection with the city's current leaf collection service.

"We would propose to continue that effort for leaves, but also include pickup of grass clippings and yard debris," Leslie said.

Residents have been critical of the city's recycling program, which also is an attempt to meet new state landfill requirements. Many people have complained that the weekly recycling collection in lieu of twice weekly garbage collection is a reduction in service.

But City Manager J. Ronald Fischer defended the recycling program Monday.

"The method we have of sorting and separating at the curb is the most economical way of dealing with this," he said.

Fischer said that if the city continued twice weekly trash collection in conjunction with the recycling program, tipping fees at the transfer station and landfill could increase five-fold. He said separation of the materials at the transfer station would be inefficient.

Council member Mary Wulfers also defended the city staff.

"I want to commend the work that Doug and his people have done with regard to the waste," she said. "I know we've all gotten a lot of complaints on it, but it's an awful situation, and I think the ideas you've come up with are commendable."

Leslie said the city studied composting programs in other Missouri cities. He said other cities provide the service at a cost that varies from 50 cents per bag to $2 per bag, or include the yard waste collection fee in residents' monthly garbage bill.

The public works director said the city also will have a large container available at the public works building for residents to deposit compost bags free of charge.

He said the program will get its first real test when the city does its annual Christmas tree collection service after the New Year. Leslie said he hopes the program will be better received than this year's solid waste changes.

"There seems to be a gap in the general public's understanding of the new state law and what we're doing in terms of solid waste management ... what we're being mandated to do," he said.

During the council's regular session, Councilman David Barklage asked that the process by which the staff drafts the city budget be changed to provide for more council attention.

Barklage said he didn't think the current process allowed for proper council review of city programs and their effectiveness and efficiency.

"We have no way right now to judge whether a program is effective," he said. "We are not as a council able to live up to our fiscal responsibility with this budget process."

Barklage said he favored a budget that delineates by program as opposed to city department.

But City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said that the council needs to determine how detailed it wants such a budget. "I think your idea is good, but I think you have to determine how far you want to go into a program," he said.

Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink said the city already is working toward a program-based budget, but he said it's difficult to dissect all the programs in the various city departments.

He suggested the council determine what specific programs and fees it wants to study more closely.

"I agree basically with everything that's been said here," he said. "We can do better cost management by moving toward more program budgeting. It just depends how far you want to go with it."

But other council members questioned whether they should unreasonably "micro-manage" the city staff.

Wulfers suggested the staff determine to what extent the budget should be broken down by program.

Councilman Al Spradling III said: "I think it's important for us to know what's cost effective and what isn't, and I don't think the budget itself is a tool to do that.

"But it's not our function to sit down and look at every possible program the city funds and determine if it's effective or not."

In other business, the council also gave first reading to a law increasing from 25 to 30 the speed limit on Broadway between Kingshighway and Clark, and a approved a resolution authorizing a disadvantaged business enterprise program for the municipal airport.