I am not supportive of the Slippery Rock Borough Council’s decision to move bulk pickup from the time-honored May date to an earlier March date.

Every Slippery Rock University student living off campus pays the monthly trash charge through his rent. In addition, many landlords have a dumpster. The fee for the dumpster is passed on to residents, so in effect they are pay twice for garbage pickup. The dumpster is a convenience for Tri-County because they have one pickup rather than multiple curbside pickups.

The Borough’s contract with Tri-County Industries covers a three-year period (Oct. 1, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2015) with a monthly fee of $11.27, to which the borough has added a surcharge of $3 for a monthly total of $14.27. The monthly surcharge represents a 21 percent increase over the contract charge. That increase nets the borough an extra income of $42,588 per year, or $127,764 over three years. Given these figures, it appears borough residents, (including student residents) are paying more and getting less. It strikes me as a back-door way to implement a tax without calling it a tax. Council must be forthcoming on this issue with an accounting of why so much is being generated and how it is being used.

Citizens need answers that are logical and believable, not hyperbole.