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Outgoing Northwest Area director lauded for accomplishments

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New LCCC scholarship honors state Sen. Yudichak’s father

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Upon further review, Mayor Tony George wants to bag the garbage sticker program he proposed to raise revenues in his 2018 budget and stick with the bags residents already use.</p><p>He&#8217;s asking them to pay more for the bags, however.</p><p>The about-face was a result of city council not going along with the program as a way to balance the proposed $49.2 million budget without a property tax increase for a second straight year.</p><p>&#8220;There was no support,&#8221; city Administrator Ted Wampole said Friday.</p><p>But even with the more expensive bags &#8212; $2.60 as opposed to $2 for a 30-gallon bag, and $1.85 compared to $1.25 for a 15-gallon bag &#8212; the revenues still fall approximately $75,000 short of the $400,000 budgeted with the stickers, Wampole said.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re looking to see if we can trim it from other places,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Another proposed fee increase, the doubling of the hourly rate to $2 at parking meters, appears to have the support of council. It&#8217;s budgeted to bring in $475,000 in additional revenue for an overall $1 million in meter fees.</p><p>The fees, as well as the budget, will be up for discussion during the work session scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday and up for approval at the public meeting to immediately follow.</p><p>Council chairwoman Beth Gilbert opposed the sticker program when the mayor proposed it and said she won&#8217;t support an increase in garbage bag fees.</p><p>&#8220;Until the administration exhausts all other possible options, I do not think the residents need to be taxed or have their fees and services increased any more. We need to tap in to other potential sources of revenue,&#8221; Gilbert said in an email.</p><p>The Payment in Lieu of Taxes program was increased after the city took up her suggestion to petition non-profits for higher payments, Gilbert said. &#8220;We need to put a strategic program in place to collect PILOT money and fully tap into this potential revenue stream,&#8221; she added.</p><p>Gilbert called for cutting salaries of non-union administrative officials and doing a better job at collecting delinquent payments. The ideas presented by the mayor are short-term fixes when long-term solutions are necessary for the city&#8217;s budgetary issues, she said.</p><p>&#8220;What happens next year when there is another shortfall? Another tax increase? Another increase somewhere else for citizens? It is just not sustainable,&#8221; Gilbert continued.</p><p>Wampole said the lower revenue from the bag fee could be made up with some effort. &#8220;It&#8217;s not insurmountable,&#8221; he said.</p><p>New sources of revenue could come from the recent announcement by Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance that it will locate its headquarters downtown and create additional jobs. Wampole said the project could bring in additional revenue through the earned income tax and parking at the city-owned James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Facility.</p><p>The bag program also could have some additional benefits, Wampole noted.</p><p>He&#8217;s been in contact with Dennis Wise of WasteZero, the Raleigh, N.C.-based manufacturer of the bags that the city sells to residents, about the quality of the bags. Some recently available at stores throughout the city appeared to be thicker than those sold before the mayor proposed switching to a sticker program. Wampole said a local company made a comparison and found the new bags were approximately twice as thick.</p><p>When it was brought to his attention, Wise said WasteZero had no problem providing a thicker bag &#8220;at no cost&#8221; to the city, according to Wampole. &#8220;And I&#8217;ll hold him to that,&#8221; he added.</p><p>Wise said he was traveling Friday and responded in an email that he&#8217;s heard the newer bags were thicker than the previous production run. He said &#8220;they are not twice as thick&#8221; and the company was looking into whether there are differences.</p><p>&#8220;However, WasteZero has agreed to manufacture a thicker bag at no additional cost to the city,&#8221; said Wise.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George wants to stick with the garbage bags sold to city residents, like the ones piled up in the background earlier this year at the Department of Public Works yard. George had initially proposed a garbage sticker program to raise revenues to balance his 2018 budget. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_TTL032217Trash2CMYK.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George wants to stick with the garbage bags sold to city residents, like the ones piled up in the background earlier this year at the Department of Public Works yard. George had initially proposed a garbage sticker program to raise revenues to balance his 2018 budget. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WB mayor does about-face on garbage sticker program, sticks with bags