The hours of Newton County’s 11 trash collection convenience centers were changed by the county’s Solid Waste Authority (SWA) Thursday night.
The centers, which accept trash from all Newton County residents, will be open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. The change will take effect following a period when signs are posted at the centers and public notice is sent out to citizens.
Originally, the centers were opened Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. However, the Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) decided to reduce the hours of operation to 45 hours during its efforts to balance the budget for fiscal year 2017. The BOC determined those hours to be Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.
After that decision was made in June, the BOC and SWA signed an intergovernmental agreement putting all decisions concerning the county’s solid waste stream into the hands of the SWA. That agreement led the BOC to make a motion Tuesday to “urge the SWA to change the hours of the center” after District 1 Commissioner John Douglas brought up discussion of the centers’ hours.
“[Newton County] Chair [Keith] Ellis (an SWA member) and I heard comments from our fellow commissioners that they would like us to reconsider the hours of operation for the centers,” said SWA member and District 3 Commissioner Nancy Schulz. “One of the recommendations we heard was that we need an earlier opening time on some days and later closing time on other days.”
SWA member Phillip Wise said that his concern over the centers’ hours was that people who worked outside of the county couldn’t return home in time to take their trash out to the convenience centers before 6 p.m.
“I really think that the hours of operation we should now go to 7 p.m. and start later in the morning,” Wise said.
Several of the SWA members had different opinions on the centers’ hours with Ellis wanting them to remain open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Sunday.
“I probably hear from more citizens than anybody else around this group, I think, and I continue to hear ‘leave the hours alone as posted now’,” Ellis said.
Ellis went on to say that keeping the extended hours of the centers would cost the county more money, but that the BOC voted to add $200,000 to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office budget Tuesday.
“There is a difference in opinion on what the centers cost us per hour,” Ellis said. “I do know we don’t operate them very efficiently or effectively, but if we can figure out a way between us [to keep the centers’ hours that would be good].”
Ronnie Johnston, Covington mayor and SWA member, responded to Ellis’s comment on the BOC finding money for the sheriff’s office request and suggested putting the centers back under the BOC’s direction.
“If it’s not going to be the Solid Waste Authority’s responsibility to pay [for the centers], and as Mr. Ellis just said the BOC has increased other costs, then from our standpoint it really doesn’t matter because they can cover it,” Johnston said. “I think we need to come up with a true solution that will last for days to come. I do know that right now this is being pitched back and forth. If the BOC wants to figure out how to afford that cost and keep them open six, seven days a week, so be it.”
Johnston’s fellow SWA members didn’t seem to support his decision, including Schulz who said the BOC just wanted to adjust hours of the centers, not increase them.
“The majority of the board wanted to adjust the hours,” Schulz said. “In terms of finances, I think Chairman Ellis would like that, but Chairman Ellis doesn’t have a vote on the budget.”
With no other hours for the center explicitly laid out, Wise made his motion, which was seconded by Schulz, and voted for by Bob Stafford. Voting against the motion was Ellis, Johnston and Sharon Sawyer. The authority’s eighth member, Lanier Sims, was absent from Thursday’s meeting. Due to the 3-3 vote, SWA Chair Wayne Haynie was forced to make the tie-breaking vote, and voted in favor of the change in hours.
