THE waiving of tipping fees was the topic of discussion at the Shire of Northam ordinary council meeting last Wednesday evening.
The request was from Northam Share and Care Community Services Group to permit their gardening contractors to dispose of waste at the Old Quarry Road Waste Disposal facility free of charge.
The officer’s recommendation advised against permitting disposal free-of-charge due to high costs associated with management of a landfill facility.
Shire president Steven Pollard declared impartiality and as a result he left the council chambers and did not participate in the vote.
Cr Des Hughes spoke passionately in favour of allowing the fees to be waivered, citing a recent comment by Member for Agricultural Region Darren West in The Avon Valley Advocate in which Mr West said many different cuts and changes to Share and Care had affected their services.
Cr Hughes put forward an alternative motion which would have waived the fees for Share and Care and a number of other local organisations, emphasising the importance of assisting elderly people who could not attend the landfill themselves.
Cr Denis Beresford was against the waive, saying it was the responsibility of the Commonwealth and should not be passed onto the Shire.
Cr Hughes’s alternative motion was put to a vote.
There was a deadlock of 4-4, however this broken by deputy president Cr Terry Little, defeating the alternative motion with a casting vote.
The original recommendation was then put forward, with another 4-4 deadlock.
Deputy president Cr Terry Little again used his casting vote to pass the recommendation, denying the request for a fees waiver.
Cr Hughes requested the names of those who voted against the waive to be recorded, which was done.
In response to the news, Share and Care chief executive Carol Jones said it was a disappointing outcome given for 30 years the Shire has supported senior citizens.
“It is disappointing to see our senior citizens being penalised because an organisation is removing waste that they have become too frail to remove themselves,” she said.
“As an organisation we would like to know why there is a charge for the most vulnerable in our community on a service every other rate payer gets for free - why are seniors less deserving simply because someone else is removing it for them?”
Ms Jones said with an average of 400 senior consumers, the decision leaves Share and Care to find around $30,000 in funds to pay for the increased costs.
“Our consumers average one green waste tip deposit every 2-3 months, I would suggest this is less than the average rate-payer,” she said.
“This service is designed to keep vulnerable people safe in their homes, the trimmings are from pathways and other areas ensuring safe entry and exit to laundries, doors, paths and wash lines.
“Share and Care thanks those councillors who supported our seniors in the community, and to those who didn’t we express our great disappointment at your very obvious lack of empathy and ignorance surrounding the financial capacity of seniors and not-for-profit organisations.
“We urge the local community to stand up for our seniors rights and to raise this as a Shire Council agenda item - we are not asking for anything over and above what other rate payers are getting, only for an equal playing field.”
