Commissioner’s Report: Garbage – What Does it Cost?

The important question is what will it cost in the future? There is no way in the space I have in this article to give you actual, accurate figures about the cost of garbage for the people in Gilmer County. There have been too many confusing figures quoted to correct those so I will simply say this once again. After hundreds of miles of travel looking at other operations, talking to other officials and employees of other counties it has become clear to me it would be totally irresponsible of me if we do not put in place a small charge for household garbage and at the same time start an aggressive recycle program run by county forces.

Based on the lowest prices I have found in the past when the prices were low and based on our Collection of the money is easily handled by the use of a lock box which someone picks up at the end of each day. No money need be handled by the convenient center operators or left on site over night. We are still working on putting in place a system which would allow you to use your credit or debit card for your convenience.

Should the decision be made to privatize our garbage disposal, you the tax payer will pick up the entire bill for the garbage plus any profit the private company might wish to make on their investment.

This is one of those decisions which can decrease our cost to the tax payer or it can do the opposite, this is one of those problems presenting us an opportunity to make things better by getting a return for something we are now paying to throw away. What do you think? I need your input and help now.

We have a problem we need your help with. We are losing street signs from our County roads and this is a costly item for the county as well as a safety problem if emergency vehicles need to find a road where that sign is missing. This could be a life threatening problem so help us put a stop to these loses.

You can reach me at 706-635-4361 or jcsanford@gilmercounty-ga.gov.