Provincetown town meeting- first night

Monday evening was the first evening of the annual Town Meeting here in Provincetown. The meeting started with the school budget and funds for allowing more properties to connect to the town sewer system. But, one local resident/voter said "I'm here to talk trash tonight." He was correct as trash was on everyone's mind. The issue of curbside trash pickup has become a huge local issue as voters are struggled with budgets, issues, overrides, etc......and hoping to keep taxes as low as possible.

The Provincetown Selectmen, faced with more expenses than the tax levy can pay for, had urged department heads to tighten their fiscal belt. But when the budgets were in, there was still a large overrun. As many expected, they were faced with pulling services and possibly jobs out of budgets and offering the voters the choice to vote for them separately, line by line with a seperate cost for each line item.

The estimated cost for trash pickup is about $153,000 per year for this town of 3,400 year-round people. Many in the meeting are not willing to do without their trash pickup and were concerned as this is a tourist destination where many people rent out properties and the owners are not here locally to deal with the trash if it is not picked up by the town. But most in the meeting didn't like it being taken out of the Dept. of Public Works budget and offered to them as not only a separate article but one that requires a ballot vote under Proposition 2 1/2.

After a long debate, the DPW budget was approved. When the meeting continues tonight, the debate regarding the Proposition 2 1/2 for trash curb-side trash pick-up will come to the floor.....very heated, I am sure!