TASK FORCE DISCUSSES TRASH COSTS

Most Cape Girardeau residents would realize little, if any, savings from a volume-based trash billing system, a member of the city's Solid Waste Task Force said Friday.

"I don't think we will be able to give that one-, two- or three-person family that much of a break. Even if we charged $3 for one bag (of trash), it is going to be real difficult," said task force member Sarah Holt.

Holt voiced her comments after the task force reviewed 1990 census statistics on households and family income in Cape Girardeau.

The nine-member task force was formed to make recommendations to the Cape Girardeau City Council regarding possible changes in the trash billing system.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said council members have raised the possibility of bidding the trash services.

He said the task force may want to study the matter and offer its advice to the council.

Fischer made it clear he favors keeping the city-owned trash service. "It is a utility just like electric, gas, water or sewer," he told the group.

He said the solid waste system should be kept out of the hands of "profit-making groups."

Fischer said he's already been approached by a company that wants to buy the water system, which was only recently acquired by the city from Union Electric Co.

The city, he said, could make a profit from selling the system. But Fischer said such a profit would be at the expense of residents, something city officials are not willing to accept.

Councilman Melvin Gateley said the council plans to discuss the issue of bidding the trash service at its next meeting.

"At this time, it is just going to be on the agenda for discussion," he said.

Fischer said the city bid the trash collection and disposal in 1987. The city received about five to eight bids, including one from the city.

"It was the choice of the council to take the bid of the city," he said.

Fischer said that if the council chooses to seek bids again, the city would submit its own bid.

Doug Leslie, public works director, and City Planner Kent Bratton reviewed the census data at the morning meeting held at City Hall.

Leslie said 80.9 percent of Cape Girardeau's residents live in three-person or smaller households.

The 1990 census lists Cape Girardeau's total population as 34,438. The city had 13,442 households. Of those, 7,709 or 57.4 percent were owner occupied. The city in 1990 had 5,733 renter households, comprising 42.6 percent of the total.

Leslie said the median family income in Cape Girardeau was $31,773.

Thirty-eight percent, or 3,141 of Cape Girardeau's families, were classified as having low to moderate income (less than $25,418). The census lists 1,842 families, or 22.3 percent, in the low-income category (less than $15,887).

Leslie said the statistics indicate that the largest number of people in the low-income category are in the 18-24 age group. He speculated that this might reflect the fact that Cape Girardeau is home to Southeast Missouri State University.

The statistics also show that 25,835 Cape Girardeau residents lived at or above the poverty level, with most of those being below 60 years of age.

A total of 5,685 residents or 18 percent of the population lived below the poverty level, Leslie said. Of those, 4,815 were less than 60 years of age, while 870 were 60 or older.

Bratton said he didn't know the income level that constitutes poverty as far as the federal government is concerned.

But he said he would consider a person with an income of $10,000 to $12,000 as living in poverty.

Of the city's 13,442 households, 30.5 percent, or 4,099, were one-person households; 34.5 percent, or 4,638, were two-person households; 15.9 percent, or 2,131 were three-person households; 12.6 percent, or 1,693, were four-person households; 4.3 percent, or 580, were five-person households; 1.5 percent, or 198, were six-person households; and .8 percent, or 103, were households of seven or more people.

The city spends about $1.8 million a year on solid waste collection and disposal.

Leslie said that ultimately any changes in the trash billing system won't change the total cost to the city, only how it is distributed.

For example, he said, if low-income elderly are charged less, then that cost break must be made up in higher charges to other households.

Task force member Jean Simpson said it appears the only equitable solution would be a per-bag trash fee.

Fischer said that in the city of St. Charles, there are a number of trash haulers and a variety of trash-collection options offered. One hauler, he said, charges more than $6 a month for once-a-week recycling pickups. There are other charges for regular trash collection.

He and task force members said such a cost would seem to discourage recycling.

But Holt said, "I do think the idea of having options is good, though."

Task force member Loretta Schneider maintained it's important to create incentives to encourage Cape Girardeau residents to recycle trash.

"As you create incentives," she said, "hopefully you'll get more recycling."

Currently, citizens are participating in the curbside recycling program to varying degrees.

Leslie said the best participation is in the northwest section of the city, where about 38 percent of residents regularly recycle trash. The lowest participation is on the city's southeast side, where the weekly rate is about 21 percent.

Regardless of how the billing system is set up, Leslie said, there's a cost to citizens.

"It is an essential service," he said following the meeting. "You are going to pay for it one way or another."