This idea could work

Thursday, February 17, 2011

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At first glance, the plan to charge Merrimack residents a pay-as-you-throw fee for bags of trash brought to the Transfer Station doesn’t seem like a particularly palatable idea.

As our friend Dave McCray said during a discussion on the issue, “I’m paying the same tax bill, and now I have to pay for my bags, too. Instead of taking it from my left pocket, they’re taking it from my right pocket.”

McCray has a succinct way of putting things into perspective and, again at first glance, it would seem that once again he’s hit the nail upon the head.

But . . .

First of all, the plan would save the town $153,000 in spending, according to a story by our Jake Berry. Then it would raise more than $485,000 in new revenues, according to town projections.

OK, let’s start with that. New revenues? In post-economic apocalyptic New Hampshire? Grab ‘em and run, folks. In a lot of towns, new revenues appear to be things of the past, unless standing outside a town hall hat in hand singing, “Alms for the poor,” is considered a potential way to raise new revenues.

We’re not sure of the $153,000 in savings, but if the town can raise almost half a million bucks in new revenue, well . . .

Yahoo!

And shouldn’t that put McCray’s concern to rest? If it works out that way, officials wouldn’t be taking anything out of his pocket. Indeed, they’d be putting something back in, assuming they use the money to hold the line on taxes (or, better yet, retain police officers and firefighters).

But there’s more: Officials believe charging to toss bags of trash would cause more residents to recycle and that is never a bad thing. They’d save money and help to save the environment.

Sure, that’s just a hope, a guess, a wish, if you will, but we can’t help but agree.

What’s good here is that the council seems to be giving this some thought. Pay to throw does not seem to us to be some sort of kneejerk reaction, not just an attempt to find money anywhere, any way. If councilors really believe that this program could lead to more recycling, that shows that they are thinking beyond the perimeter at which municipal thought generally comes to a halt, to wit: money, money, money.

You have to give credit where credit is due and this time, we think, credit should go to the council for thinking beyond the money.

We hope Dave McCray and those who are thinking as he is will give this a chance. If it doesn’t pan out as the council has indicated it will, you can always come back and demand changes. The program, as far as we can tell, can’t be written into stone.

So, let’s try this.

And if you want to save that buck or two or 10, for crying out loud, RECYCLE.