Garbage Sale Refills Oxford Town Coffers

Oxford Town Councillors were called to chambers this evening for a special meeting that has the bean-counters smiling.

Council was asked to approve a resolution to dissolve the Cumberland Joint Services Management Authority, the body comprised of Oxford, Cumberland County and the Town of Amherst, which oversaw the operations of waste management in Cumberland.

The Little Forks waste management facilities, operated by the CJSMA, were sold to private firm — GFL Environmental, the fourth largest environmental services company in North America.

In February of last year, Mayor Greg Henley noted, “We now have certainty around the long-term costs of dealing with our waste. Our taxpayers are being protected.” 

And with the dissolution of the CJSMA comes the distribution of the administrations’ surplus among the three municipalities. 

With over $7.5 million dollars in the bank, Oxford’s share amounts to 4.656%.  In cash terms, Oxford is looking at a windfall of over $353 thousand dollars.

This is particularly good news as town staff and council are preparing the 2023-2024 budget, and with the town in dire need of infrastructure improvements, particularly in water, sewer, and paving.

In related news….

Oxford had hoped to ask the public for their preference regarding waste management services, that is, whether to keep the long-established transfer station in Roslin, or switch to curb-side pickup. 

The latter is favoured by Mayor Greg Henley. He says an initial, back-of-the-napkin calculation, showed the town could save upwards of $40 thousand dollars per year by closing the facility and contracting garbage pickup.

The question was to be put to the public in a plebiscite question added to the ballots during the election to fill a vacant council seat, but with only one candidate offering, no election was needed, and therefore the public had no opportunity to answer that question.

Today the Town took to social media to clarify the situation, noting that a plebiscite is not in the cards but that staff are researching the costs and benefits of both options. 

It says the Town will be “reaching out to the public at a later time”  to put the pros and cons on the table and seek input.

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