City Yard Debris Pickup Service Could be Dumped

New Port Richey’s city department heads are being asked to identify ways to in the next fiscal year.

One service that could get the axe is the city’s residential yard debris curbside pickup program, which is offered to residents living within the corporate limits of New Port Richey.

is offering the long-running service as an option for the chopping block. The decision on whether to do away with the program ultimately rests with the city council, Applegate said, and will be discussed as officials hash out the fiscal year 2013 city budget.

“It’s been a service that’s been long-used by city residents, and it’s a fairly popular service,” Applegate said.

Public Works mulches the plant debris collected and offers the mulch for free for pickup or delivery. Folks who live inside the city corporate limits or outside them can currently take mulch ground through the service.

The city will continue to have some mulch if the service is discontinued because the department will continue to collect debris on public property and mulch it. The amount available will be drastically reduced, though.

In the face of ugly, department heads were asked months ago to outline ways to cut their budgets by 10 percent. 

“One of the only ways to achieve that goal is to eliminate the service,” Applegate said.

Eliminating the program could save the city roughly $100,000 in the first year of the change and more in subsequent years, Applegate said.

The city yard debris pickup program is offered to every residence within the New Port Richey city limits. It's not offered to businesses. The service makes its rounds once every six to seven weeks.

Applegate said the department would eliminate two positions if the city’s elected officials decide to axe the service; one of which is vacant and the other of which is filled by an employee who would be let go. A third department positiion for the pickup service is filled by someone who also does other duties sat the department and will continue to be on the payroll.

Applegate said that the debris pickup is “the only service that we can eliminate.” 

Cuts elsewhere would dip into public safety services, which are already operating with a reduced staff, he said.

Applegate said residents can still have debris picked up by private haulers if the service is eliminated, but they will have to abide by their haulers’ weight and dump size restrictions. City Manager John Schneiger has asked Applegate to analyze other options available in case there's a way to continue the program. 

Public Works will be working to let residents know what they can do with their debris if the service goes away. The department also will work with code enforcement to keep the city from loooking unsightly.

Lia Gallegos, who rents a home in unincorporated New Port Richey, uses the mulch component of the program.

“I inherited a weed-filled sandy mess of a lawn when I first moved in two years ago, and I wouldn't have been able to do the amount of landscaping I have without the City's free mulch program,” Gallegos wrote in a message to Patch. “In the last 12 months I've used probably 25 yards of mulch, and I am about to order another load.”

Gallegos said the program’s elimination would be a “terrible loss.”  It keeps yard debris out of the landfill. The mulch it creates is an organic material that nourishes the sandy soil. It also helps prevent erosion.

“I understand the difficulty of the financial situation however, and would be more than willing to pay a delivery fee to help offset the cost of staff time and fuel,” she wrote.