Herbst Explains Cutting of Recycling Coordinator

Breaking his silence since submitting his budget in February, First Selectman Tim Herbst defended removing the Solid Waste and Recycling Coordinator position.

"I stand by my decision," he told a group of residents, members of the Trumbull Taxpayers Association, at the Trumbull Library recently.

The job is "municipal solid waste," or garbage, and recycling coordinator, he said. The job description calls for promoting recycling in town schools and negotiating disposal of solid waste.

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Bennett went into five of Trumbull's six elementary schools, but not the high school or two middle schools, he said.

He added that Public Works Director John Marsilio set up the Good Will Donation Center at the TEaM Transfer Station and single stream recycling, before the coordinator's job was posted.

The Trumbull Board of Finance could have added back the funding for the job but the effort failed 3-3 along party lines. One the job's opponents called it a "failed experiment."

But proponents argued more than a year is needed to prove the necessity of the job, noting that Marsilio backed the position.

The $151.9 million budget for 2013-2014 kicks in July 1.