Town Administrator Shelley Banford and the Select board have provided additional info on the trash items that are on the March fourth warning

Article #21 Casella is no longer providing manual trash/recycle collection.  Vernon’s contract with Casella ends June 30, 2024.  Our Town Administrator negotiated a 4-month extension as this was the longest extension Casella would agree to.  Therefore, this article is only for the 4-month extension. This will give Vernon time to look at all options.  Casella submitted a proposal for a 5-year contract providing mechanical collection of trash/recycle however this proposal is incompatible with the Pay As You Throw program revenue needed to fund this service.

 If the voters vote YES on Article#21 Vernon has the opportunity to move forward with mechanical  trash/recycle collection services.  Towns that utilize these services with Casella average a cost of $35.00 per month.  This is billed by the unit/residence directly and itemized on your tax bill.  The four-month extension will give the Town more time to hold informational meetings and conduct surveys on how many households would be interested in these services. A 96-gallon recycle cart will be provided so more items can be recycled and a 64-gallon trash cart for each household. This service will eliminate the PAYT bag program.

If voters decide NO on Article #21 there will be no trash or recycle collection services provided after June 30th. There may be an outstanding balance from the PAYT program that will need to be paid .  If residents vote NO on Article #21, voters will need to consider voting YES on Article #22.

If voters vote NO an Article #21 residents can consider Article #23 with the option of constructing a Transfer Station at the expense of $50,000 and $60,000  for three part-time employees.  The transfer station location is to be determined and would take several months to construct.  

These are not all the options Vernon will have available however they are the only options with complete information at the time of printing the Town Meeting Warning.  Other options can be discussed under Article #31 during the meeting to better understand what services residents would like provided for trash/recycle.