That’s the question before the South Milwaukee City Council on Tuesday night, when we’ll vote on a condominium trash collection policy that was essentially tabled from our last meeting.
We currently do not have a written policy on this — only a “practice” that is applied to all condo developments by the city. As part of that practice, the following criteria must be met for the city’s Department of Public Works to collect trash for condo units.
- The unit must be served by a public road.
- None of the buildings in the complex or association shall have more than three units.
- The total number of units within the condominium complex or association may not exceed six.
Under this practice, about a half dozen condo complexes in the city get their trash collected by the DPW. The larger ones in the city — including Marina Cliffs (80 units), the Village on College Avenue (64), The Sanctuary (24) and Heritage Reserve (16) — do not.
But should they? And is the above practice the right one?
That’s what the council will debate, as we consider a policy that includes all of the above bullet points … minus the cap on total units.
This issue is on the agenda now because of a request by The Sanctuary, which under the existing policy must pay for private trash pick-up because it exceeds the six-unit cap. It has asked to have the city reconsider its position on this, and that request has turned into the policy debate.
The debate is a necessary one. I feel we need a written policy on this. So the fact that we’re having this discussion at all is a good one.
Where do I stand? I support the revised policy — without the cap (and with requirements that tipper carts be used and be placed at the curb no later than 7 a.m. on collection day).
To me, the biggest question to answer should be, “Is the condo complex on a public or private road?” I believe the city’s bias should be toward collection of condo trash for those complexes on public roads. We already plow and sweep those public streets, so why not collect trash on them as well? And we collect trash for homes on public roads, so why not condo units?
Conversely, I don’t think the city should be asked to enter onto private property (roads) to collect trash for anyone. That’s a no-brainer to me. So that rules out the city collecting trash for Marina Cliffs, the Village and Heritage Reserve.
I also support removing the units cap because it seems arbitrary to me. Why six?
At the same time, I understand the need for the density maximum. I’d hate to have the city pick up trash for a densely populated condo tower — should one ever be built here — simply because it is on a public road.
Now, there is some disagreement here, and I expect a close council vote. And the opponents’ concerns are valid. The biggest is the “slippery slope” argument, as they argue that other property owners who currently pay for private trash pickup will see passage of this policy as license to seek public trash collection. There are also concerns about adding more work to the DPW, which is already stretched thin.
What do you think about the issue? Post your comments below … and vote in the poll on the right-hand side of this page.
South Milwaukee Blog 
I don’t have an strong opinion on this one way or another and your general thoughts seem reasonable. I would suggest, however, that the discussion be opened up to include the question of taxes. 1) When the condo tax rates were set was a discount added for non-pickup? 2) Do the units with pickup pay more in taxes for similar properties than those without? 3) Will a change in policy affect a change in rates? Additionally, you mentioned a densely populated condo tower. Generally, cities that attempt to attract these high density properties (as opposed to single family dwellings) do so specifically for the increased tax base. If that is the case, it seems the city should be picking up the tab.
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