The Haines Borough Assembly last week rejected purchase of a $12,500 dump trailer for the Small Boat Harbor, despite appropriating funding for the purchase a month earlier.
Assembly members George Campbell and Dave Berry voted against buying the trailer. Members Joanne Waterman, Debra Schnabel and Diana Lapham voted in favor. Assembly member Jerry Lapp was absent.
The resolution failed on a 3-2 vote. Four votes are required to pass a resolution or ordinance.
After the cost of trash pick-up at the harbor dumpsters nearly tripled with an increase in rates for pick-up, harbormaster Phil Benner started researching purchase of a dump trailer so harbor employees could haul the trash themselves.
In October, the Port and Harbor Advisory Committee unanimously recommended the borough purchase the dump trailer, which according to Benner’s calculations would save the borough $8,000 a year and pay for itself in less than two years.
However, assembly member Campbell balked at Benner’s numbers during a recent assembly meeting and expressed skepticism that the trailer would actually save money. The resolution was postponed, and chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart later provided an analysis of the dump trailer’s cost saving benefits to corroborate Benner’s numbers.
“I think we have talked about this a lot and we should go ahead and make a decision tonight one way or the other and then move on with our collective lives,” said Mayor Stephanie Scott.
However, Campbell continued to demand more detailed numbers, even though Stuart’s analysis showed the amount of garbage disposed of each month for the past year, the price paid per pound to two companies, the estimated labor cost, and the cost of fuel and maintenance.
Campbell repeatedly challenged the numbers, prompting an admonishment from Scott.
“I’m confident in the analysis that has been provided to us by our CFO and our harbormaster,” Scott said. “George, you have differences with that. It’s as detailed as we’re going to have it and I understand that you disagree with it.”
Berry said in an interview this week he voted against the dump trailer because he thought the move would put pressure on CWS to increase rates. “Even though the borough would save roughly $8,000 a year, how much is everybody else going to have to pay?”
“I’m just speculating that they would raise rates, but chances are they’d have to,” Berry added.
Benner said he was disappointed in the decision, but “that’s the way things happen.”