Taxpayer money will no longer subsidize the Clintonville Area Waste Service (CAWS) site.
An agreement between the city of Clintonville and the towns of Larrabee and of Matteson could save hundreds of dollars annually for each township-and thousands annually for Clintonville.
“We’ve worked cooperatively with our partners from the townships of Larrabee and Matteson to approve eliminating the subsidy from our municipalities,” said Mike Hankins, CAWS board chairman. “We’ve worked through some concerns and maintained a good working relationship. I really appreciate the cooperation between the three municipalities.”
The city has been trimming down the subsidy amount over the past 12 years.
In 1999, the city paid $24,000. That amount decreased to $16,000 in 2001, dropped to $8,000 in 2006, and was trimmed to $4,000 in 2010.
“It’s been a gradual effort to get to this point,” Hankins said. “We’ve been shifting things from a subsidy base to a user fee base; so, if a resident chooses to use a commercial hauler rather than the CAWS site, they do not also have to help pay a subsidy for the CAWS site in addition to what they pay for the commercial hauler.”
The elimination of the subsidy will save the city $4,000 annually. The town of Larrabee had paid $775 and the town of Matteson had paid $500 – amounts calculated on a per capita basis.
CAWS stickers are currently sold at $7 for a sheet of five stickers. Though customers must buy them by the sheet and not individually, the price for one sticker breaks down to $1.40. A proposal to increase the cost to $2 per sticker-or $10 per sheet-will be discussed at a public hearing. That meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, at City Hall.