Town Manager Admits That Mistakes Were Made Pertaining to Solid Waste

“Why didn’t you say that two hours ago?”

Councilwoman Amber Veitenthal wryly remarked on Town Manager Joe Waltz’s silence throughout much of the discussion on the evening of Monday, December 2, beginning at 7 p.m. for a work session in Town Hall at 102 East Main Street.

Depicted here, the moment before the Front Royal Town Council began its work session on the evening of Monday, December 2. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

The most prominent issue on the table was the Main Street Solid Waste Service Area. It is defined in the Town Ordinance, amended on September 23, “as parcels located east of North and South Royal Avenue and south of Peyton Street and west of Chester Street and west of High Street and north of East Jackson Street.” When the ordinance was amended, the rates for waste collection in that area changed based on a multi-tiered classification system. The driving force behind this amendment was the town’s need to address the red zone in which they were operating regarding solid waste service in that area. Throughout the discussion, the contributions from the town manager were conservative as he walked the tightrope of interjecting information and allowing the council to digest it. Ultimately, they will provide him with direction based on the input they receive from him, members of staff, and a consultant. Early in the discussion, he admitted that in the execution of the ordinance, certain mistakes were made in terms of classifying the customers correctly.

Establishing the classification system is a prerequisite to understanding the discussion. In the amended ordinance, the entirety of the MSSWSA is classified into four different categories: residential, Class I small business, Class II medium business/small food service, and Class III large business/restaurant. Residential is expected to pay a $22.05 monthly rate. Class I is expected to pay a $46 monthly rate. Class II is expected to pay a $120 monthly rate. Class III is expected to pay a $425 monthly rate. This third and final class has raised ire in the Main Street business community, as it represents such a high percentile increase from the $26 monthly rate customers were previously paying. Add to this the incentive to see everyone who benefits from service in the MSSWSA pay their due. A certain number of variables have kept taxation from being completely fair. In many cases, dumpsters are shared, and it is ambiguous whether all people using them are generating the same amount of waste and paying their fair share of taxation. Much of the discussion gravitated toward the Director of Finance and Assistant Town Manager B.J. Wilson, who explained to the council the centrality of Public Works to the classification process and the hurdles they are clearing to streamline service in that downtown area.

Waltz said that most of the misclassifications, such as putting a business in Class II that more appropriately belongs in Class I, have been rectified. As for the shocking Class III, the two or three businesses that were initially classified that way have been moved to Class II for the time being. They will remain there until the council determines the best way of handling the third class. After the council had debated a wide range of options presented by the consultant on the most attractive way to adjust the rates without pushing the Town deeper into the red, Waltz proposed an option in which Class I and II remain the same. At the same time, III is reduced to the extent that the council feels the Town can reasonably subsidize the preservation of the Main Street area as the gem of Front Royal that it really is. Veitenthal, who favors privatization of the service, suggested the council discuss the issue at their next retreat. At the earliest, the council will establish a more precise direction at their January 6 work session.

As anyone following can tell, there are many moving parts in this endeavor to preserve the Front Royal gem. Aligned against it, for instance, are the parties alien to that area who drive up and illegally dump their waste in the dumpsters. The question mark represented by certain residential units in which the number of tenants is unknown also presents a problem. Amid all these concerns, businessmen like David Gedney of Element and Rick Novak of Royal Cinemas wonder why a consultant is necessary when they have the calculating power and can provide the Town with so much information. There may be an open door into the town manager’s office whereby players like Gedney and Novak can provide their insights. As the council has the appetite and the time to digest, perhaps the traffic through that office will increase productively. As T.S. Eliot once wrote: “In a minute, there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.”