It was a long night at city hall as the Albany Common Council Law Committee held a meeting, public comment period and vote to repeal the new trash collection tax.
In January the Common Council passed, at the request of Mayor Kathy Sheehan, a trash collection tax that applies to two-, three-, and four-unit buildings.
11th ward councilman Judd Krasher led the call for a vote on a law that would effectively repeal the fee by requiring that it sunset at the end of the year. "It creates a sense of urgency for the city to come up with something fairer. And I made it very clear, that, one, it will give us many months to come up with something better. And, two, what the outcome with the new fee structure might look like next year, I don't know, and it certainly may not be ideal, but we owe it to every single resident in the city of Albany with something that makes far more sense."
Some 25 citizens spoke during an extended public comment period. The 7 p.m. meeting lasted well into the night. Observers took to social media, sending out updates and criticizing local leaders. A tweet disparaging 1st ward Council member Dorcy Applyrs, who voted against the trash fee legislation in January, painted her as "an ally of the mayor" and noted her desk lamp was off, that she had left the building.
Applyrs tells WAMC she wanted to be there for the vote but had to leave for a 9 p.m. commitment. 6th ward council member Richard Conti was also rebuked on social media. "Council member Conti said that he will not show up: he said that in email prior to the meeting because of his work at the State Capitol," said Krasher.;
10th ward council member Leah Golby, who voted NOT to repeal the fee, notes that thousands of low-income people live in affordable housing operated by the Albany Housing Authority that is not impacted by the trash fee. She says many other landlords accept Section 8 housing vouchers through AHA that help low-income people pay their rent. "I don't think anybody on the common council is thrilled with the trash fee, but we have to start somewhere in terms of starting to charge a fee for the service that it costs to pick up trash. Down the line, when we don't have the landfill anymore, everybody is going to have to start paying to pick up trash."
Golby adds when that day comes, the fee will probably be a lot more than the current fee. Rachel McEneny is budget director for the city of Albany: "We applaud those who stuck by their original vote. Repealing this fee at this point, would have injected uncertainty into the budget process. We are working very hard on the 2017 budget. We are also watching what is going on across the street from us at the capitol, where in very few weeks we are gonna be voting on a budget where the city fo Albany would receive $12.5 million, which would help close the gap for this year, so I think that what many people were concerned with last night, as well as the administration was, is that to pull this trash fee in good faith when we're working so closely with the state, arguing what we need to stay open, really, in the city, and to have this type of vote right now was a very knee-jerk reaction."
The final tally: the Common Council voted 8-5 to keep the trash fee as is.
