Divided council allows garbage refendum in Rolling Meadows
A divided Rolling Meadows City Council officially voted on Tuesday to let the question of outsourcing garbage collection go to the residents on the November ballot.
Rolling Meadows is one of the few suburbs that still collects its own garbage, but in order to cut costs, outsourcing has been researched and discussed for the past year — to the disappointment of some residents who have spoken out against a change that would save them money.
As part of the November general election, the voters of Rolling Meadows will decide in a nonbinding vote whether they support privatization or not, but even putting the question on the ballot has been controversial for the city council.
Some aldermen said the amount of residents speaking out against outsourcing has been blown out of proportion in comparison to how many residents live in the city and that there are other large issues that the council decides without a referendum.
“Last year we took away the (Fourth of July) parade to save the residents money, we took away the chipper service to save the residents money,” Alderman Brad Judd said. “Here’s an opportunity to save the residents a good chunk of money, and we aren’t seizing it. It’s very confusing to me.”
Mayor Tom Rooney has said that about 100 residents have reached out through public comment, email or other modes of communication about the issue.
“The usual number of public input on the resolutions we pass is zero,” Rooney said.
Judd added that he thinks there are politics at play behind the issue but didn’t elaborate.
Aldermen John D’Astice and Mike Cannon said they were concerned about the misinformation and rumors among residents.
No jobs will be lost through outsourcing, D’Astice said. If the city decides to outsource, residents will save $5 a month in the first year and possibly more in the future. Refuse rates will be locked in for seven years by contract with either Groot or Veolia, the two companies bidding for the refuse proposal. The city will also have a one-time bonus of $800,000 for selling their equipment, D’Astice said.
Mayor Tom Rooney bluntly admonished members of the city council for helping spread misinformation and for discussing the issue as if the decision to outsource had already been made.
“The overriding concern is that the council already has its mind made up,” Rooney said. “When people say things like ‘We all know how everyone’s going to vote,’ should it surprise anybody that some people don’t trust this council to make this particular decision correctly?”
Following the 4-3 vote to place the referendum on the ballot, Rooney thanked those who voted in favor — Aldermen Larry Buske, Jim Larsen, Jim Allen and D’Astice — for “standing up for the people of Rolling Meadows.”
Aldermen Robert Banger, Judd and Cannon voted against it.
“You can tell I’m a little hot and bothered about this,” Rooney said. “As the person whose job it is to make sure the debate stays fair, I have watched time and time again as folks have spun things to make it sound more expensive or sound cheaper. I’m not the only one who has seen it — the people out there have seen it too.”
Information about the refuse options is available on the city website and will be more widely distributed before the election, Rooney said.