BPU Has Long Been Cheaper Than Alternatives. That Must Remain The Case
Jamestown Board of Public Utilities officials are testing the water on the idea of charging for yard waste stickers that allow city residents to dump their yard waste.
The service has long been free to those who make the trip to the BPU’s headquarters on Steele Street and get the free sticker. Those who want to bag their yard waste and have the BPU take it away pay for a yard waste bag.
Reaction to the idea has not been supported by city residents, but at least the BPU has been up front with its users by broaching the idea more than a year before changes have to be made. Nothing is changing for 2025, with future discussion aimed at the 2026 BPU budget.
While we hope the yard waste stickers remain free, any fee should be kept as small as possible. We also hope the BPU doesn’t end up scrapping its recycling incentive program as it figures out what to do with the orange recycling bins whose RFID chips, at 10 years old, are showing their age. Recycling rates jumped when the program first began, but it will be hard to justify the recycling rebate program as a second set of containers needs to be purchased.
As those discussions take place, though, the BPU should keep in mind the initial public reaction, particularly when it comes to the recently released 2025 city budget proposal that comes with its own 7.79% proposed tax increase.
Part of the unfavorable reaction to the idea of a yard waste sticker fee is a byproduct of the BPU’s ability to keep costs low when compared to neighboring alternatives for electricity, water and garbage collection. People are accustomed to those low rates in part because many homeowners and business owners use those lower costs to balance the higher costs associated with paying for full-time police and fire departments that drive tax bills higher than areas that don’t provide those same services.
That means it’s imperative for the BPU board to keep its eye on providing services at as low a price as possible. It’s worth keeping in mind as the utility makes decisions about its future.