For Franklin residents, a debate over trash pickup has little to do with trash. Instead, it’s emblematic of the cost of living in the area, with a high tax rate yet stripped-back city services, and the inability of city councilors to heed constituent concerns. 

Desiree McLaughlin knows this to be true, all too well. On December 5, she presented the council with a petition of  119 residents opposing the city’s new trash ordinance at a public hearing. On March 7, she gave them another 112 signatures from a Change.org online poll. 

“I have done my very best to represent a large number of people who have asked me to represent their voice as some do not feel represented. And it's up to you and your discretion to listen,” she told the council at their March 7 meeting. 

Despite her attempts, the council passed the changes to cut off multifamily housing units from municipal trash collection on a 6-3 vote. Opponents said it was going to hit the city’s poorest residents hardest.

Trash ordinance 

The new ordinance amends the current curbside trash collection, which includes residential and commercial properties, to now only include single and two-family residences. 

This change now leaves multi-family homes and businesses excluded from curbside collection. They can hire a private contractor, or dispose of trash at the city transfer station. 

To throw trash away at the transfer station, city residents will now have to purchase specific bags for $2.35 each. 

The purpose of replacing the ordinance is to reduce the cost of trash collection in the city. These savings will go into a general expense fund for the city to put towards future projects, like repairs at the transfer station. 

“We have a transfer station that is in dire need of repairs,” said Councilor Ted Starkweather, who represents Ward 1. “The scale doesn’t want to work when there’s frost on the ground.” 

The revised code will save the city almost $400,000 a year, according to City Manager Judie Milner. 

Commercial units will not be phased out until July 1, 2024. But local business owners and councilors who voted in opposition to the ordinance fear that means unintended consequences are still on the horizon for the city, with little recognition of resident opposition from the council. 

When McLaughlin presented her first petition in December, Milner stated that she would only count the signatures of registered voters who had participated per city law. Out of the 119 signatures, only 51 counted. 

But for McLaughlin, and Councilor Robert Derochers, who represents Ward 2, only validating registered voters is a tactic to discredit residents’ voices.  

“This council does not represent only registered voters,” Derochers said. “Because these people that presented a petition didn't necessarily agree with the city's policy that they were trying to push, they said ‘let's see if we can discredit them’.”

In the end, however, the signatures didn’t resonate with the ordinance passing, said McLaughin. 

“I was very upset because I know people in these different wards did not want it. And they voted against their constituents,” she said. 

New fees 

With multi-family homes classified as a commercial unit, the first unwanted consequence of this trash ordinance will be felt by city tenants, said McLaughlin. 

She’s a landlord herself, but if her tenants buy the required bags, she’ll take their trash to the transfer station. She knows other building owners may opt to contract services, however, which could mean rent increases to cover these costs. 

From a business perspective, this new ordinance doesn’t impact McLaughlin. But she can point to directly who it will impact in the city – low-income homeowners. 

Last Friday, McLaughlin hosted an event at her laundromat, bringing together housing resources, recovery-based service providers and other local nonprofits. Franklin residents who came by, are folks that McLaughlin interacts with on a daily basis as they do their laundry, chatting with her in between loads. 

These are the voices that often go unheard at city council meetings, she said. Although Mayor Jo Brown came by her event, and acknowledge the effort at Monday’s city council meeting, many councilors are out of touch with the day-to-day needs of citizens who may be living below the poverty line, said McLaughlin.

“They're completely ignorant to how 90 percent of their residents live. They don't know their stories,” she said. 

In Franklin, which is the smallest out of New Hampshire’s thirteen cities, 55 percent of students in the school district qualify for free and reduced lunch, according to data from the Department of Education. The median gross rent, according to the U.S. Census is $948. 

“If we pass this tonight, it's gonna raise people's rent in Franklin three or more times by $50 a month. That's a lot of money from people,” said Derochers. 

Leo Guyette, a local landlord, also fears this to be true.

“I cannot expect my tenants to pay an additional cost. With the exorbitant water/sewer rates, rising electrical bills, and already high taxes, their rent is already at an unprecedented high,” he wrote to councilors ahead of their December 5 meeting. “With the economy the way it is, this is not the time to tax them when they are struggling as it is.” 

A loss of services 

The ordinance also brings about concerns of economic development. Franklin, which recently has made headlines for the revitalization of its downtown, is home to a slowly changing Central Street with new businesses and attractions like Mill City Park, a whitewater paddling destination in the heart of the city. 

But with these new fees, new ventures could be deterred, knowing that the operating costs will now include trash expenses. 

“Future businesses may be discouraged from considering Franklin. Rental rates for local businesses and residents will increase the number of vacant viable commercial spaces and residential apartments,” said McLaughlin.

For single-family homeowners, paid taxes include trash pickup. For multi-family units, though, there is now a loss in services without a tax break. 

“The economic burden of municipal services will be transferred directly from the city of Franklin's municipal budget straight to the newly designated commercial property taxpayers with no adjustment to the property owners' tax rate,” said McLaughlin. 

Some business owners don’t agree, including Marty Parichand, owner of the sporting goods store Outdoor New England and the executive director of the non-profit Mill City Park, which has been drawing more visitors to the city. If Franklin can reinvest the savings to other projects, like road improvement, then it’s a worthwhile measure, he said. 

“A city should strive for continued improvement through initiatives that save money within the operational budget. This will lead to a more efficient, effective and vibrant community,” he shared at the December city council meeting. 

In participating in city council meetings, Parichand has seen the council debate, but delay, necessary town improvements time after time. 

The trash ordinance is no exception, as the idea has floated through the council over the last decade. Despite the years of debate, however, there has been little consensus from councilors. 

“I’ve opposed this thing right from the beginning,” said Derochers, who was one of three councilors that voted against the ordinance. Ward 3 Councilor Paul Trudel and Ward 2 Councilor Olivia Zink, joined him. 

With the ordinance passed, commercial entities will continue to pay the same taxes, while inheriting a new cost of trash collection. 

“If we are trying to encourage businesses to come to town, it would be a slap in the face to charge them for garbage pickup,” said Guyette.

This reduction in service is what swayed Trudel. 

“I cannot again in good faith support this ordinance or any other ordinance that's going to increase revenues or is going to decrease services to the residents of this city,” he said. 

And for Derochers, it isn’t the first time he’s seen the city cut municipal services without tax relief.  

“How many more times are we going to see if Franklin will cut services. We don’t pick up leaves anymore. We don’t plow half the sidewalks in Franklin. The cutting services and charges have to end pretty soon,” he said. “Taxpayers are  getting screwed at every turn here.”

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