Boston Globe 

An article in last Sunday's Globe North ("Thousands sign petition against trash program," Nov. 16) failed to mention that the city of Malden never consulted its citizens until after the passage of this ordinance, which still in our opinion is a tax. It was signed by the mayor on June 26, and the deadline to get it on this year's ballot was four days later. What we also discovered from the state's Department of Environmental Protection website for the implementation of the Pay-As-You-Throw program, "An Implementation Guide for Solid Waste Units-Based Pricing Programs," are the following guidelines in regard to community involvement (which is the main reason why we have collected thousands of signatures in Malden):

"Public hearings can provide an additional avenue for residents to voice their concerns and raise new issues. These should be well publicized and held approximately six months before the anticipated program start-up date."

Another section of the guide states: "Community awareness and support is a key to your ultimate success." The meetings held in Malden in August were for informational purposes only.

We also have another concern about the city allowing the retained earnings generated by Pay-As-You-Throw to remain in a fund such as an enterprise or a separate account, rather than revert to the general fund. We also know that the city took steps to assist some of the elderly. It appears that the Malden Housing Authority facilities and low-income residents who receive fuel assistance will be taken care of this year through a nonprofit organization. But we want people to remember it was all done after the fact, and potentially large amounts of funds were moved into accounts to subsidize this new revenue stream for the city. We would hope that it was in the planning stages and just overlooked by the city in communicating that relief was coming for some of our citizens.

Greg Cooper, director of consumer programs for the state Department of Environmental Protection, who was quoted in the Globe article, said Malden's program is off to a good start. Why wouldn't he say that about it? His department grants the city already taxed dollars to send out a very expensive-looking mailer to us with the $2 bag in it, plastic card, preprinted envelope, and postage.

We can look at the numbers of signatures and going by the rules of Malden we (the citizens) potentially have the right for a special election if our certified signatures exceed 20 percent of the registered voters in the city. We don't advocate for this, because in the past few weeks, many departments in the city are clamoring for additional funds. The rules that we must follow for the citizens' signatures to really matter, have their voices heard, and let our elected officials vote again on this ordinance, are rules from 1950.

Bob Miller

Chairperson

The Malden Taxpayers

for Accountability