In 2010 the Haddonfield Commissioners outsourced its trash collection to a privatized company to save thousands of dollars of department of public works costs. Last week, the commissioners took a step forward to possibly privatize three other services it has traditionally offered through its own department of public works and borough employees.
Commissioners Jeff Kasko and Ed Borden passed three resolutions to advertise for bids for street sweeping services, leaf collection, and street and asphalt repair. Mayor Tish Colombi was absent from the meeting, as a representative said she was away on vacation.
It’s the first time in the history of the borough that the commissioners are going out to bid for privatized leaf collection and street sweeping services, Kasko said at the meeting.
The commissioners explore the street and asphalt repair bids every other year, Borough Clerk Deanna Bennet said.
Of course, in 2010 the commissioners voted to privatize the trash collection services in Haddonfield for the first time in the borough’s history, a move that was controversial at first with borough residents.
A five-year deal was signed with Casworth Enterprises of Deptford. The Borough reported that it could possibly save $800,000 could over the length of the contraction.
Four department of public works employees were laid off due to the decision.
In other borough news:
The commissioners approved an ordinance to raise the borough’s water and sewer rates for the year. Kasko said this has become almost a yearly move for the commissioners.
The water rate will increase by 10-cents to $4.90 per thousand gallons. The sewer rate will increase by 5-cents to $2.35.
The funding brought in through the sewer and water rates is used to support the borough owned water utility, Kasko said, and to pay for infrastructure and capital programs in regards to the borough’s utilities.
Kasko and Borden both acknowledged that the borough might be looking into selling its water utility in the future if it’s no longer economically feasible for Haddonfield.
Past Mayor Gene Kain had led an initiative to look at the possibility, but found that it was more feasible for the borough to keep its utility.
Betty Phillips, a borough resident, didn’t think it was a smart idea to look into selling the utility.
“I like the way our water is in town,” she said. “It tastes very good.”
