All of the other $6.7 million was
not.”
In contrast to Hutton’s data
from the staff meeting, City
Administrator Howard Lazarus
emphasized
the
inaccurate
statistics
presented
to
the
Environmental Commission.
“There was a presentation
made to the environmental
commission that was incorrect
in terms of the fund status,”
Lazarus said. “The Solid Waste
Fund is actually in reasonable
shape.
The
fund
balance
actually is not dropping in the
way it was represented and it’s
not because of staffing.”
According
to
Craig
Hupy,
public
service
area
administrator, the Solid Waste
Fund revenue in an average year
is approximately $14 million
and will only drop significantly
if a drastic scenario occurs.
However,
Lazarus
reported
higher projected numbers for
the end of the fiscal year than
Hupy.
“The end of year balance
for the Solid Waste Fund is
forecasted for the end of the
fiscal year to be $22 million,”
Lazarus said. “There’s a drop in
what’s called the unrestricted
fund balance, this is at $8.5
million, but that’s forecasted
to rebound in the fiscal year of
2019 to go up to $10 million.”
The Solid Waste Fund sources
primarily
from
dedicated
property tax millage, according
to Lazarus. Both recycling and
solid waste are supported by
the Solid Waste Fund. Smith
explained in an email interview
the closing of the Materials
Recovery Facility significantly
impacted the fund.
“Two
major
things
have
impacted the fund — The first
is
recycling;
the
shutdown
of
the
materials
recovery
facility or MRF has resulted
in
significantly
higher
cost
for recycling at the same time
markets for these materials
have declined,” Smith wrote.
“Second,
the
fund
had
to
account for pension and other
post employment, which was a
huge hit to the fund balance. On
the plus side, the new landfill
contract is 30 percent cheaper
than our previous one, which
about offsets the increased
recycling cost, but what creates
long term deficits though is the
MRF, which cannot be safely
operated
without
significant
investment.”
Mayor Christopher Taylor
released
a
recycling
report
explaining
the
termination
of the City’s contract with
ReCommunity,
the
former
operator of the MRF, and their
new relationship with Recycle
Ann Arbor. The new agreement
is not a long-term, sustainable
solution but is functioning as a
temporary service.
“The MRF remains inactive,
but
RAA
utilizes
the
location
to
organize
and loose load materials
for hauling to recovery
facilities
in
Ohio
and
Taylor, MI,” Taylor wrote
in the statement. “Although
hauling recyclables to Ohio
is not a long term solution,
the facility does provide
improved glass recycling.”
Based
on
Hutton’s
report before the Council
in December, the City’s
inadequate staffing is a
major factor in the Fund’s
drop.
“Between
2010
and
2014 the City lost four
experienced solid waste Full
Time Equivalents and did
not replace them,” Hutton
said. “The City has one FTE
in field operations and a few
positions with some solid
waste responsibility. The
position you authorized in
2016 still remains unfilled.
The City is deferring this
hire until it updates the
Solid Waste Plan, which
expires at the end of this
month.”
However,
Communications
Specialist
Robert
Kellar
discounted
Hutton’s
report,
saying
staffing
is
not
the
primary concern, since the City
has had similar levels of staff
in solid waste as six years ago.
Hupy also claimed the City has
accounted for FTEs over the
past several years.
“We only have one FTE
open right now and we’re
interviewing for it,” Hupy said.
“So the FTE’s that we’ve had
have been pretty consistent over
the last six years and as we’ve
had turnover we’ve filled them.”
Overall, Hupy emphasized
prioritizing different aspects
of the plan based on the City
Council’s goals toward zero
waste.
“Part of the planning effort
will have to be prioritization of
what items get done first and
with what resources,” Hupy
said. “This isn’t an unlimited
amount of money so you have
to decide what gets done first so
that’s why the solid waste plan
goes back through council so
they can mold it to make sure it
reflects their values.”
Kellar highlighted recycling
as the primary concern for the
2018 Solid Waste Plan based on
the community’s priorities.
“Recycling is part of our
sustainability goals, whether it
costs the city money or makes
the city money within the
Solid Waste Fund, we’re going
to continue doing it because it
something the community has
said is of value,” Kellar said.
The
City
is
reportedly
satisfied
with
the
current
status of the Solid Waste Fund.
The new plan aims to fulfill
zero waste goals but will be
changing their approach toward
recycling through community
collaboration in the process.
“I think people have looked at
recycling in one way for a very
long time because it was a very
stable and an under-the-radar
market, but that has changed
dramatically so people are going
to have to think about recycling
in new ways,” Kellar said.
2 — Tuesday, January 23, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Behind the Story
MONDAY:
Looking at the Numbers
News
CHRISTINE MONTALBANO/Daily
TUESDAY:
By Design
WINTE RFEST
LSA Senior Bosco Yeung and LSA Freshman Quinn Baker practice mini table tennis at their Winterfest table at the Union Monday.
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
WASTE
From Page 1
42% 22%
FINANCIAL AID
1700 current students
qualify for the GO BLUE
Guarantee (full tuition for
students w/ family income
less than 65k)
NEED BASED GRANT
1700 current students
qualify for the GO BLUE
Guarantee (full tuition for
students w/ family income
less than 65k)
NEED BASED GRANT
2015-2016
6,947
2,577
in state
out of
state
WEDNESDAY:
This Week in History
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
ARTS SECTION
arts@michigandaily.com
SPORTS SECTION
sports@michigandaily.com
ADVERTISING
dailydisplay@gmail.com
NEWS TIPS
news@michigandaily.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL PAGE
opinion@michigandaily.com
NATHAN GUPTA
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
nathankg@michigandaily.com
ALEXA ST. JOHN
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
alexastj@michigandaily.com
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
photo@michigandaily.com
NEWSROOM
734-418-4115 opt. 3
CORRECTIONS
corrections@michigandaily.com
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the
fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available
free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for
$2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275.
University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions
for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
DAYTON HARE
Managing Editor haredayt@michigandaily.com
RIYAH BASHA and SOPHIE SHERRY
Managing News Editor news@michigandaily.com
Senior News Editors: Andrew Hiyama, Carly Ryan, Kaela Theut, Matt Harmon,
Maya Goldman
Assistant News Editors: Jordyn Baker, Remy Farkas, Riley Langefeld, Elizabeth
Lawrence, Rachel Leung, Molly Norris, Maeve O’Brien, Shannon Ors, Amara
Shaikh, Katherina Sourine
ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY and ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Senior Opinion Editors: Elena Hubbell, Emily Huhman, Jeremy Kaplan, Tara
Jayaram, Ellery Rosenzweig
MIKE PERSAK and ORION SANG
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com
DANIELLE YACOBSON and MADELEINE GAUDIN
Managing Arts Editors
arts@michigandaily.com
Senior Arts Editors: Becky Portman, Sam Rosenberg, Arya Naidu, Dominic
Polsinelli
Arts Beat Editors: Shima Sadaghiyami, Jack Brandon, Fallon Gates, Asif Becher,
Sofia Lynch, Tess Garcia
ALEXIS RANKIN and KATELYN MULCAHY
Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com
ROSEANNE CHAO and CASEY TIN
Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
BRIAN KUANG
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com
Deputy Editors: Colin Beresford, Jennifer Meer, Rebecca Tarnopol
FINN STORER and ELISE LAARMAN
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com
Senior Copy Editors: Emily Stillman and Allie Bopp
BOB LESSER and JORDAN WOLFF
Managing Online Editors
lesserrc@michigandaily.com
Senior Web Developers: Patricia Huang, Abna Panda, Hassaan Ali Wattoo,
Rebecca Tung
IAN HARRIS
Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com
Senior Video Editors: Abe Lofy, Robby Weinbaum, Jillian Drzinski, Danielle Kim
JASON ROWLAND and ASHLEY TJHUNG
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com
Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Zainab Bhindarwala,
Christian Paneda, Nisa Khan, Na’kia Channey
Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Angelo McKoy, Kareem Shunnar, Maya
Mokh, Priya Judge, Efe Osagie
ANNA HARITOS and KAYLA WATERMAN
Managing Social Media Editors
Editorial Staff
Business Staff
EMILY RICHNER
Sales Manager
DEANA ZHU and JEFFREY ZHANG
Sales Manager
CAROLINE GOLD
Media Consulting Manager
CLAIRE BUTZ
Business Development Manager
JULIA SELSKY
Local Accounts Manager
SANJANA PANDIT
Production Manager
Senior Photo Editors: Amelia Cacchione, Emma Richter, Evan Aaron
Assistant Photo Editors: Claire Meingast, Sam Mousigian, Aaron Baker, Ryan
McLoughlin, Alec Cohen
Senior Sports Editors: Laney Byler, Mark Calcagno, Robert Hefter, Max
Marcovitch, Paige Voeffray, Ethan Wolfe
Assistant Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Tien Le, Anna Marcus, Ethan
Sears, Jacob Shames
Sudoku Syndication
http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/
1 of 1
10/8/08 12:37 PM
SUDOKU
HARD
9
3
8
5
2
8
1
7
9
7
3
2
8
3
5
6
4
5
9
1
2
4
5
7
8
4
FLU SPREADING. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com