A move to four-weekly ‘black bag’ collections will save Pembrokeshire £115,000, a full meeting of the council heard.
In a pre-submitted question heard at the May 9 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Cllr Alan Dennison had asked: “The budget approved by council in March meant severe cuts in services to the ratepayers of Pembrokeshire, one of which was the increase to four-weekly collection of general non-recyclable waste.
“Can the cabinet member advise what the total cost of rescheduling the collection service, to include any new larger vehicles required, and will this extension mean potential redundancies within the organisation and if so at what cost to the council?”
Responding, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said the change had seen the removal of one vehicle, and, with changes in staff turnover, it was not expected to see any redundancies.
“The total cost would be associated with the communication of such changes,” Cllr Sinnett said.
Cllr Dennison viewed that a “a saving of zero pounds,” asking: “Could the Cabinet member reconsider; we’re not saving anything, we’ve the onus on residents having to store another black bag mouldering over the summer.”
Speaking the day before Cllr Jon Harvey was elected as the new leader of the council, replacing Cllr David Simpson, he added: “This could be the first positive move for the new leader.”
Cllr Sinnett responded by saying the removal of one vehicle would result in a cost saving of £115,000.
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