Our View: Time to privatize

As the city looks to increase the rates paid by residents for utility services, it might be time to seriously consider privatizing trash collection.

According to proposed rates sent to residents in their water bills, the monthly solid waste charge is projected to increase from $25.50 during the current fiscal year to $47.50 by 2022.

Utilizing one of the private solid waste companies within Sweetwater County may provide savings to residents and save the city from the costs associated with building a solid waste transfer station -- a win-win situation for almost everyone involved.

Of course, those employees currently in the city’s solid waste division would be impacted by this kind of decision. We’re not advocating for those employees to be cut from the city’s workforce and believe other areas within the city, such as its Parks and Recreation Department, could absorb the employees displaced from closing the division and transferring trash removal to an outside enterprise.

Another solution to this problem include offering older employees an early retirement package should the city decide to privatize. A package, perhaps similar to the package offered to employees by the county in years past, would result in savings to the city as those positions would be closed out while younger employees, already budgeted by the city, would work in other departments.

A second solution or possibly another option included with the early retirement incentive would be to work with the company taking over solid waste operations in Green River to hire the employees impacted by the change.

The Green River City Council is looking at another difficult budget year for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. With increases in rates proposed for wastewater and solid waste disposal, eliminating solid waste from consideration could provide some budgetary relief for the city.

Reserves from the city’s solid waste fund could then be used to ease the burden the city faces in closing and monitoring the landfill.

Privatization is not a cure all for governments in a financial bind. They’re expected to provide services to the people they serve, some of which are not provided by private business.

However, in this situation, the city and its residents could benefit from competition amongst the area’s multiple waste management companies, resulting in lower monthly costs for solid waste removal in Green River.